


Primaeval

by JennaLee



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Blowjobs, Feral Rhett, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Mild Injury, desert survival, handjobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 15:54:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 98,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6382951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaLee/pseuds/JennaLee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link gets more than he bargained for when he decides to explore the wilderness on his own. After sustaining a serious injury, he wakes up in the lair of a feral man who wants nothing more than to have Link as his mate. As untamed and frightening as the wild man is, Link can't help but be intrigued by the gentle yet savage giant. </p><p>There’s a lot that Link needs to teach the feral man about being human, but there's a lot he has a lot to learn himself.</p><p>One thing is for certain - their lives will never be the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wildman

**Author's Note:**

> I loved the selfie Rhett took yesterday out in the desert and I'm sure many of you did, too! Some lovely people on tumblr liked my tags where I said that he looked like a feral desert dweller and that he should find an injured Link and nurse him back to health. And thus, this fic was born.
> 
> Future chapters will alternate POVs. Here, we start out in Rhett's.

**Cover art by[rhincoln.](http://rhincoln.tumblr.com/)**

There was an intruder in the desert.

Outside the cave was too hot when the light was in the sky but sometimes very big very loud animals who did not know any better would tromp around the very edges of his territory, talking in deep booming voices. Everything about them smelled of danger and bad and death. All animals hid from them, watching their movements apprehensively. They were not food but sometimes they left food. But other times they left danger things that small animals ate and got sick from or got caught in and died because they could not get food or get away from the big animals. 

He did not like them at all. He did not like them on this land. It made his throat rumble and his blood pump harder. Ready to fight if he had to. They sometimes brought very big things with them that roared like animals but were not animals that smelled like poison. They terrified him more than anything he had ever seen. They moved faster than even the fast fast deer could run. 

It was very good that they usually left before it got dark so he could collect his food in peace. Life was about avoiding danger things. Sometimes, rarely, the loud bad animals made a small cave out of seemingly nothing and made a fire and stayed the whole night. But they were very stupid and blind and did not see animals who were close to them, so he would simply give them a very wide berth.

Most of the time, the bad animals were in groups. The one that he was looking at now was alone. It was odd, but less frightening. Some other animals had been watching it for some time. It was too big to be food, but sometimes a lone, slow animal meant food if you waited a long time. Big vultures circled overhead, looking down on the weird animal that had bright colours on and walked on its hind legs only. It had a big red hump on its back. It did not seem to know where it was going and it did not know how to walk in a straight line. If you did not look at the sky and the things around you, you would end up making a big circle and coming back to where you started. 

It was a dumb animal, he concluded. But why was it so fascinating at the same time? He watched it like a fox watching a rabbit. It looked very wet from the sun. The sun made the water come out of your body and that meant danger. That meant death. The sun made bright red pain happen on your skin. That was why he stayed in his cave during the day where it was cool and good. Why would an animal go into the sun? He wondered if it had one of the strange caves that could be built out of nowhere. He wondered many things. His head was full of wonderings all the time and that made him a strange animal. 

The thing was getting too close for comfort now. _Intruder. Danger. Intruder._ He hovered at the entrance to his cave, bristling, ears straining to listen to the path of its movements. 

The other animal was still being very loud. Big feet stomping, moving slow, bumbling. A predator’s walk. It was not afraid. Challenge. Danger. It was getting closer. It was coming right for his cave. It was looking around. Looking for food? Was he food? He was not going to be food for this big dumb animal. He was big, too. He would not be afraid. 

He felt a growl rise in his throat, lip curling in a snarl. Making a terrible face, he puffed up his chest big and prepared to lunge in a bluff charge. 

But suddenly, the thing made a very loud noise that made him wince and retreat several steps. The last of the animals to put up with his presence were gone in a flash. The instinct to bolt back to his cave was very strong. The thing was on the ground now, thrashing like it was being eaten and making more of those sharp noises that sounded like the big mountain lion screams. It made his lips draw back and his eyes go small and he stopped being big and tried to make himself very small. Oddly, the animal took the hump off his back and fiddled with it, but couldn’t seem to achieve whatever it was that it wanted to do.

Finally, the animal went still. The silence was good. The screams had been very bad. He waited a long time, feeling the way the wind was blowing and smelling all the good things on the air, his eyes fixed on the animal’s body. It was not moving. It had not moved in a long time now.

Curiosity got the best of him, and he crept out to have a closer look, moving smoothly on all fours with his callused hands and feet barely feeling the hot sun-baked rocks. The animal was lying on its back like a dead fish on the edge of the big water place where he drank from. It still did not move.

He studied it from all angles, crouched down low in the shelter of a big rock. The light was fading from the sky and it was soon going to be time for all the animals in the desert to crawl out of their safe, snug dark homes to begin the search for food. He needed food too and so he was anxious. But he did not want to leave his cave undefended. It was a good cave. The injured animal did not see him. It was unbelievable. It must have very bad eyes. The eyes were strange, big squares on the front of its face. 

It might be dead. If it was dead, it might be good to eat. Some dead things were good to eat, if they had not been dead a long time. He could not eat things dead for very long like the vulture did.

He crept closer. It still did not move. Closer still. It was breathing. Not dead. He stretched out his neck and smelled it. It smelled very puzzling and not edible. For some reason he could not seem to get enough of it and he grew overbold and sniffed all up and down its body. One part smelled of badness. Down by the hind foot. Blood and badness. A wound. The animal was hurting but not dead.

This was a strange situation. He squatted beside the hurt animal, bewildered by the feelings he was experiencing. It was like he wanted to care for it. Often, he had many strange thoughts that were more complex than the world around him. Life was about food and not dying. Killing and not being killed. Sometimes he had deeper thoughts about himself, his relationship with the desert and the boundaries of his world. Sometimes he yearned for another place that only existed when he was asleep and having night pictures. It gave him feelings that he did not understand. This loud noisy not-good animal in his territory was making him feel some of these strange things. Only mothers with eggs or small animals wanted to protect and care for others. Sometimes fathers who mated would also help protect the small animals he made. But he had not mated, and did not have young.

But he liked this animal. It needed to hide because it was not strong and hurt. It needed a home. His cave was big enough for two big animals and he was strong enough to bring it inside. Walking on his hind legs unsteadily, he used his front legs to scoop up the animal and made his way uncomfortably back to the entrance of the cave. He gave it a good smell, listened closely, and went in headfirst. Then he poked a front leg out to drag the other animal in after him. After another moment, he grabbed the strange thing that the animal had been carrying on its back. It was heavy, like a rock, but soft to the touch. He pushed it into a corner after giving it a few pats and sniffs. 

It was a very wrong thing to do. Animals did not do it. Hurt animals were food for stronger animals. But he had long ago accepted that there was something very different about himself. He put the hurt animal on his soft nest of sand and bits of fur and considered it carefully.

The thing had four long limbs and its forepaws were shaped very differently from the hind paws, just like him. And the limbs were pale sand colour, just like him. The body was two different colours. And the fur on the head was dark and there was no fur on the face. He dared to pat the face with a hand, amused at his bravery. Smooth cheeks, smooth chin. It made him feel soft and happy inside for reasons he did not understand. Little fur over the eyes. And the eyes – the squares were not attached to the face! The eyes were underneath. He poked the hard squares on the animal’s face and growled softly, confused. 

He looked at his own body and back at the intruder’s. They were very, very similar. He had never been so close to another animal like himself. Was he also one of the loud noisy bad animals that came to his desert sometimes? That idea frightened him badly. But no, he couldn’t be. He was too different. And his injured animal couldn’t be, either. It was not very smart but it was too pretty and alluring to be one of the things he hated. It was different and strange, too. It was a little bit smaller than he was, and he felt confident that if it was bad and wanted to fight when it awoke, he would triumph. But somehow he did not think there would be a fight. This was not an enemy. He could not understand why he knew this. When he stared at the animal he remembered another time, a long long past time, of a soft cool safe place where the sky was grey or white like rock and there were many animals like himself all around him, making noises and touching him. It made his chest feel funny, but good.

An idea happened. Maybe he’d found a mate. It was mating season for some animals. He knew this because he liked the small animals that came after the mating season, because they were good easy food. Small rabbits in a nest were good food, and the eggs of birds to poke with a claw and suck out the nourishing inside. Big rabbits tasted good too but ran very fast. He liked eggs and fruits best of all.

The thought of having a mate was appealing. He put his nose down between its legs and sniffed. It was a smell that made him happy. He brightened and gave his mate’s face another quick sniff. It made him happy all over and warm down below in the place on his body that was very good to touch. He had an urge to do the mating right now. But it was still asleep. Its face was hot and damp. Concern made the happy feelings go away. The small animals of the desert were very good at hurting the big ones. He knew what it was like to whimper and whine and thrash around in the sand with a hot sharp needle pain in his foot and a little light-brown animal scuttling away with the weapon on its tail raised menacingly. He had also, once many moons ago, been bitten hard by the big spotted lizard that had come into his cave when he was asleep. It hurt bad and then it made lots of food came up out of his mouth and his leg had felt hot like the bright sun outside for days and he had felt bad all over like he was going to die. He had slept a lot and felt weak and scared and small. 

His mate was going to feel the same way. His mate might be asleep for a long time. His mate would need food and water and care.

He thought for a moment. He knew where there were many round red spiky things that were very tasty to eat and wet inside like the cactus. Maybe his mate would like some. Good water, good food, much energy. He would look for nests of birds and carefully carry eggs back if he could, too. When his mate got better he would bring it to the water place. He liked the water place very much and he could swim very good. Maybe his mate would be impressed by how many fish he could catch in his hands. He knew that if he was big and strong and fast and impressive, he would get to do the mating.

He became excited again. He wriggled out of the cave immediately and went off in search of the good food to bring to his new mate.

  



	2. Link's Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I always wanted to use that as a chapter title.

Link awoke hours later, disoriented and weak and confused. When he opened his eyes, everything was pitch black. Not just dark like his room at night – it was as if he’d gone blind. The feeling of being smothered by the total darkness crept down Link’s throat and he gasped.

The next sensation that he became aware of was pain. His left ankle was throbbing fiercely with a hot ache that radiated from his foot to his knee. It prickled strangely, as if he was being prodded with a hundred needles at once. His eyelids were heavy and he felt vaguely nauseous. Link turned his head to the side to look for the glowing green numbers of his alarm clock at his bedside, but there was nothing there. Neither was the reassuring glow of the plug-in night light in the bathroom down the hall. Link noticed then that he was wearing his jeans and a T-shirt instead of his usual nighttime attire of cotton PJ pants or boxers.

None of it made sense. This could not be his bedroom. He was lying on something much harder than his bed. Did he pass out on the floor somehow? Had he maybe fallen down the stairs and broken his ankle, then hit his head? To test this theory, Link tried to bend his foot and rotate the ankle. Both moved normally enough. Nothing was broken. But it was incredibly painful, and the feeling worsened when he tried to move his leg. Link groaned out loud and the sound echoed strangely. 

Fear trickled down his spine like ice water as his sluggish brain began to realize that something was very, very wrong. 

Link struggled to sit up but his head swam, forcing him back down. Wherever he was, it definitely was not his house. The air was cool and quiet. It smelled of earth mixed with a deep-seated musky aroma and a light spicy sweetness he was sure he’d smelled the last time he’d gone camping. _Brickelbushes_ , a corner of his brain piped up, conjuring an image of a raggedy plant with stringy flowers and pleasant perfume. Thinking of the wilderness sparked a memory and he latched onto it before it floated away in his hazy brain. Something about being outside in the middle of nowhere, walking… 

Link frowned. Why had he been walking? He’d been driving, hadn’t he? Driving under a clear blue sky in the late evening, with nobody else on the road but him, listening to John Mellencamp on the oldies station. Playing the song in his head suddenly made other memories begin to flood back all at once. All had been well, until…until the car stalled and died. Link had looked under the hood uselessly, knowing he wouldn’t even recognize a problem if he saw one, must less be able to come up with a solution. To make matters worse, his cell phone was dead. The only solution would be to wait for help or try to walk the nine miles back to the last building he’d passed. Walking seemed like a good idea at first, but when Link felt the bite of the sun and the intense heat radiating from the sky and up from the boiling hot sand, he realized his mistake. Instead of heading back to his car, he’d taken what he thought was a shortcut. The road had curved in a big U shape, up and around a rocky slope. If he walked straight across the mouth of the U, he’d save a lot of time and effort. He had a little food and water in his emergency backpack and some basic supplies just in case. Everything would be okay, he had assured himself. 

Funnily enough, that was where his memories stopped. There was no trauma or injury that he could recall. He’d been hot and sweaty, sure, but it was tolerable. He’d just been walking in the desert scrubland, admiring the colours of the desert dandelions and purple bell-shaped blooms that grew all around his feet. And up on the dry stone slopes grew brownish plants with raggedy flowers that look like they’d been dragged through red paint. Maybe he should have been looking at where he put his feet instead of gawping at flowers. Or maybe he should have been paying closer attention to signs of sunstroke. But if he’d just passed out from sunstroke, he’d still be outdoors. He’d be able to see the sky and the stars, if nothing else. 

Weakly, Link stretched his hands out on either side of him. His fingertips brushed dry stone on one side. Beneath him, he felt pieces of fur-covered fabric, soft and thick, and clumps of loose fur matted into balls. And beneath them was fine cool sand. It didn’t make any sense. Link’s heart began to beat more quickly and he fought the increasing hysteria as best as he could. Now was not the time to panic.

What in the world was going on? His backpack, where was his backpack? There was a first-aid kit in there. His ankle felt horrible. In the dark, he couldn’t see the wound, but when he reached a hand down he could feel how swollen and hot the skin was. There was a large lump on the side of his ankle and in the centre of the lump was the worst of the pain. _Snakebite_ was his first thought. But if he’d been walking through the scrubland, it could have been a snake, or a scorpion, a spider, a Gila monster, anything. He certainly didn’t remember. Was he going to die? How long had he been unconscious? But no – if he was going to die, he probably would have by now. If it was dark, that meant he’d been out for at least a few hours. That didn’t make him feel too much better. He was still alone, nobody knew where he was, and he wasn’t going anywhere with his ankle hurting so badly. Link knew he needed to calm down and think of a plan, but he had absolutely no idea where to start.

It was almost funny. Almost. He’d done so much research on dangerous desert species before he’d gone camping the year before to the point where he’d felt confident that he could identify any problem. Now all that knowledge was gone, swallowed by his panic.

“Help,” he rasped. “Help…Somebody…” He tried to swallow but there was no saliva to moisturize his dry tongue. “ _Help!_ ”

The words echoed several times and died. Nobody answered. There was nobody here but him. 

Where was _here_? Link could sense that he was in an enclosed space. However, he could feel a light breeze moving the stray hairs on his forehead. The silence was discomfiting. Link had lived in Los Angeles for so long that he forgot what it felt like to sleep without the sound of constant traffic for miles around. Another deep throb of pain made him gasp and squeeze his eyes shut, panting hard. It was so difficult to think about anything else for very long. Vaguely, he wondered if he was bleeding. _Stay conscious,_ he coaxed himself as his head began to spin at the thought of blood. _Stay awake. Stop panicking. Think._

Just when he had begun to calm himself, a sudden noise made his throat close with dread. Something was coming. Link heard a dry whisper, sand moving on sand, and then a louder scrape like a stone clattering against rock.

Link held his breath, listening hard. Was it a cougar? A snake? The sound grew louder as it came toward him, unmistakeably real, and whatever it was, it was big. He barely suppressed a terrified yelp. The musky aroma was becoming stronger and he could hear another thing breathing in the dark. It sounded like – a person. 

Had he been kidnapped? Or was someone here to rescue him? The thing – the person – exhaled a puff of warm air that Link felt on his face.

“Please,” he tried, weakly. “Please, whoever you are, I need help. My ankle’s hurt, I think a snake bit me. I can’t walk. I need an ambulance. Please call – ”

A hand pressed against his mouth, caressing his lips mid-speech clumsily. Link couldn’t help but scream and flail his arms out in front of him. His hands connected with a chest that felt hard as stone, all wiry muscle and zero body fat. Link barked out a noise that was almost a sob and tried to get his hands up to the person’s face, wanting it away, thinking of getting his fingernails in the vulnerable eyes. It was then, grasping blindly at the person’s shoulders, that he realized the sheer size of his captor. His arms felt so weak as they pawed uselessly at the huge body above him. In less than a second Link’s wrists were caught in hands the size of dinner plates and gently but forcefully placed back at his sides. Too shocked to move when his arms were released, Link lay frozen in place. The hands returned, cupping Link’s head between them, and the mingled threat and intimacy of the touch was too much for Link to handle. 

Utter terror swooped in and enveloped Link like a cold blanket. He thrashed wildly, all logic and rationality gone in the face of the unknown. His throat was closing and he felt as though he was breathing through a straw. He was being murdered, he’d been kidnapped or drugged or beaten up, he was going to be stabbed or worse, tortured maybe, like those awful stories of Jeffrey Dahmer, or maybe it was Ted Bundy, skinned like the girls in _Silence of the Lambs_ , thrown in a pit to die, _oh, dear God, Jesus, help me, don’t let that happen to me, isn’t this just what happened to them, they woke up and they couldn’t see anything in the black basement, oh, please, no –_

Link sucked another gulp of air and opened his mouth to yell for help, and a small piece of soft sweet fruit was pushed inside. 

At first he gagged, but the trickle of juice down his parched throat made him swallow instinctively. Before he could react to this new development, another larger piece was placed between his lips. Link chewed and swallowed, blind and confused and suddenly aware of the burning thirst like never before. 

“Mmm,” his captor encouraged. “Mmmm.”

“Water,” Link gasped out, but only received more fruit. It could be poison, it could be drugged, but he couldn’t help himself. “Water?” he repeated faintly, to the same result. Finally, he realized that the juicy fruit would help quench his thirst, however much he would rather down a whole bottle of water. Link willingly opened his mouth and accepted a fourth piece hungrily. He tried to grab the person’s hand as it came near his face but failed.

“My backpack,” he said into the unforgiving blackness, not knowing who he was speaking. His burst of mortal terror had left him with a strange hangover and now the situation was feeling surreal. “Where is my backpack? Where am I? Please, don’t hurt me.”

There was no answer. Link allowed the person to give him more fruit, slowly and patiently. It tasted a little like watermelon mixed with raspberry, with a texture like a very watery kiwi. The moisture in it helped soothe his spinning head and made the pain retreat a little. Though he didn’t know what he was eating, he found it very delicious. 

When the food was gone, the man retreated. At least, Link was pretty sure it was a man. “Where are you going?” Link called desperately, his panic making his voice shaky and high. “Please! Don’t go…don’t leave me here! I can’t see anything!”

The man shuffled forward again. His big calloused hand touched Link’s hair gently, soothingly. Fingers ran down the side of his face. They felt rough as sandpaper, and very, very strong. The hand was _enormous_. If he had any malicious intentions, Link would be powerless to stop him. A whimper escaped his lips.

“Don’t hurt me,” he begged faintly. “I’ll give you money, all my money, whatever you want. _Please_.”

“Mleedse,” the man said in a rich, deep baritone voice. The word came out in a rusty bark. It took some time for Link to realize that he was being imitated.

“You don’t speak English,” Link thought out loud, timidly. “Do you?”

“Ooh-you,” the man repeated. He cupped Link’s jaw and then put a hand on the top of his head. Now that his panic was receding again, Link could better judge the situation. The stranger didn’t sound threatening. If anything, he sounded concerned. A very small part of Link felt relief.

“Dónde estoy?” Link tried. It was the only thing he could think to say. The man only made a chuffing noise as if trying to laugh, and stroked Link’s dark hair. Link was out of ideas. He wondered if the man spoke some indigenous language. “Hey,” he tried. “Hey, thank you for the fruit. Where are you?” He reached out for the man’s arm, but touched something firm and lightly hairy. Further exploration revealed that it was the man’s stomach, directly above his own. The man was on all fours, on top of him, shirtless. He made a low, pleased rumble as Link’s fingertips explored cautiously. When Link raised a knee to protect himself, it collided with what felt like a thigh. A naked thigh. Then the man moved his body and Link felt something else against brush against his leg, and his brief moment of cautious relief was gone. His stomach dropped and he tried to flatten himself back against the ground.

“You – you’re – ” Link gasped. “You’re not wearing anything…”

The man lowered himself and pressed his chest against Link’s, groaning softly. A coarse, wiry beard scraped Link’s chin. The naked man was _smelling_ him, nuzzling him, and oh, God, what was he going to try and do? Link’s thoughts of being violently murdered changed to thoughts of being violated in an entirely different way. 

It was time to fight. The man was not going to be persuaded by pleas or bribes.

“Get off of me!” Link yelled, pushing at the man’s chest. “I’m going to call the cops, man! I have a gun!” He didn’t. He didn’t have anything but his weak sweaty fists. Even if he had a weapon in his bag, there was no way of finding it. “I’ll shoot you! Don’t try anything or you’re dead!” Incredibly, he managed to curl his hand into a fist and make at jab at the other man’s shoulder.

“Hahh,” the man said, sounding startled and confused. He scrambled off to the side and touched Link’s hurt leg with a finger. When Link didn’t respond, he tapped lower down near the site of the swelling. “Hahhh?”

Link flailed his arm in the direction of the man. “No!” he roared as loudly as he could. “It hurts! Something bit me! Don’t – Hey!”

The man had managed to grab Link’s wrist. He moved faster than Link had ever seen a person move. When he tried to scrabble at the man’s hand to break his grip, the man easily seized his other wrist and held both together, one-handed. As Link used his upper body strength to fight this grip, the strange man used his free hand to touch his sore ankle. Link could barely feel the light pressure of his fingertips; the epicentre of the injury was numb like his gums after being Novocaine’d at the dentist. The fingers came and went, came and went. It didn’t take Link long to realize that his ankle was being daubed with some sort of warm, thick, and very sticky paste. Link recoiled; it felt like the man was rubbing tar directly on the wound. His strength was quickly fading and he no longer had the energy to wriggle away. Maybe if the man came close enough, Link could lift his head and try to bite. Maybe he’d get lucky and get a knee up at the right time, get the guy in the balls. Balls and eyes, fight dirty, and get him down for a good long time.

_And then what? Where are you gonna go? He’ll recover faster than you._

_So what? Just fight! Maybe he’ll give up and leave you alone._

But then a new smell hit his nose and he stopped dead as a word popped into his brain from the depths of his memories.

_Mesquite._

One of his college friends, a Texan and a barbecue enthusiast – pretty much synonyms, in Link’s experience – had rambled at length on the difference between flavours of wood smoke. Personally, he hadn’t seen much of a difference in flavour, but he remembered commenting on the smokiness of one burger.

_“Yeah, that’s mesquite. A trash tree in Texas, we burn ‘em all the time to get rid of ‘em. Here’s the bark…smells strong, doesn’t it…? The wood’s full of this black tar crap. The Indians used this stuff to cure everything...”_

Link went still. Whatever the man was putting on his ankle was made of mesquite. A traditional desert medicine. Chest heaving, Link settled down and stopped fighting to break free. 

“Mmm,” the man said with satisfaction. He was being so gentle, so careful with Link’s injury.

“Are you…helping me?” Link wanted very much to believe this. Again, there was no answer. 

When the man was satisfied with how much of the tarry stuff was on the wound, he crawled up beside Link. He moved very slowly and flinched at every one of Link’s movements. Link could smell him, the thick smell of sweat and musk. He could tell by the man’s breathing that he was nervous. Maybe, impossibly, he had succeeded in scaring the crazy man.

“Puh,” the man said. “P-plee. Please?”

“What?” Link asked foolishly, though he knew the man was just imitating him again. “What do you want?”

With a loud thump, the man lay down beside him and tried to put his face in Link’s neck. Link cringed and shuffled to the side, his heart thumping hard. He didn’t know what to do. He was at the man’s mercy. And while he seemed to be trying to help heal Link’s ankle, he was also naked and holding Link against his will. And now he was trying to snuggle up as if they’d known each other for years. 

“No,” he said. He did not want to cuddle. Link rolled onto his side, turning his back on the stranger. The man only shuffled closer again. Fear ripped through Link like a lightning bolt at the position he’d put himself in. He definitely didn’t want the man’s nakedness pressed up against his backside, especially when he felt as though he was going to pass out.

“Leave me alone,” Link insisted, turning onto his back again and shivering. His brain was shutting down and all he wanted to do was sleep. The pain and fear and confusion were just too much to handle. The man didn’t try to cuddle again, but he put a hand on Link’s stomach. 

“I said no!” Link tried to yell, although his voice was weakening.

“Hmmm,” the man said in a much smaller voice, and suddenly his presence was gone. Link heard a quiet thump as if he had sat down in the corner far away. 

Link was left alone in the dark again. He wrapped his arms around his chest, his eyes slowly falling shut as if they were weighted. There was nothing he could do. He could not walk, he didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know what the crazy naked man beside him was capable of. 

All he could do was close his eyes and wait for sleep to take him.

**

The morning came in a wash of lavender light glowing softly along the walls of the cave, illuminating the two forms of the sleeping men within. The world was still, holding its breath in the beauty of the dawn. Outside, the air was already warming up, and the animals of the desert were making their way back to their burrows and caves. A killdeer shrieked thrice, then quieted. The sound startled a jackrabbit, who darted beneath a bush at the mouth of the cave where two men slept. At their smell, the rabbit fled in mortal terror. The branches of the bush moved in its wake and sunlight pierced through the small opening in the rocks.

Link, pale and wan, the hem of his jeans stained with mesquite tar, slept alone in the middle of a giant nest made of brown-and-grey grizzled fur. In the far corner, long and gangly limbs folded uncomfortably on the stone floor, lay a much more menacing figure in a crude robe made of similar fur sewed together with yucca fibres. His eyes were half-open and he was gazing at Link wistfully. The robe left the entire front of his body exposed, but he seemed quite unconcerned about this indecency.

Soon, Link opened his eyes again slowly, feeling like he’d been run over by a truck. His ankle still throbbed, but weakly now. The pain had receded. His mouth was very dry and he tried running his tongue over his chapped lips to wet them. He looked at the ceiling, and then to the shaft of sunlight streaming through the cave entrance. Then, inevitably, he turned and saw the man who had so frightened him in the middle of the night, the man that could not speak English but was as strong as an ox and fast as a cat. He was looking right at Link with a grin full of small teeth nearly obscured by a thick beard, wild green eyes shining bright from behind a mane of long matted hair. As Link’s eyes widened, the man rolled onto his knees and began to walk easily on all fours towards him. The robe fell to the floor.

Link shot upright faster than he would have believed possible and the peaceful dawn was shattered by a scream.


	3. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for my snail-like pace with this one, guys! Life is a little crazy at the moment. Thank you so much for all your lovely comments!

Link scrambled to get away on legs that felt rubbery and weak. He managed to scuttle backwards in a weird sort of crabwalk until his shoulder hit solid rock. Flattening himself against the cool wall, Link drew his knees up to his chest and thrust out an arm to ward off the man crawling after him with almost catlike grace. 

“Stop!” he shouted. 

Startled, the man skidded to a halt and sat back on his heels, where he regarded Link with wide eyes.

“Stay there. Stay there, okay?” Link rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands and looked at the man again. He was evidently not hallucinating – this was definitely real. 

The man was incredibly tall. _Inhumanly_ tall. Despite his tangled, dreadlocked hair that looked as if it hadn’t been combed or cut in decades, he appeared reasonably clean. Link could smell his sweat and light body odour, but it wasn’t unpleasant or strong. A blush automatically stained Link’s cheeks as his eyes dropped to the stranger’s groin. The crazy man did not seem to mind Link’s stare. Nor did it seem as if he wanted to show off. He just looked back at Link as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with being naked and on all fours with a cowering, injured man in a cave in the middle of nowhere. 

_He could do anything to me,_ Link reminded himself, thinking of his terror in the night and of his captor’s intimate behaviour. However, in the soothing light of the dawn, it was more difficult to feel threatened by the man whose face seemed so content and guileless. Green eyes roamed over Link’s face and body slowly, not maliciously, but in genuine curiosity. While the attention gave Link a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, he didn’t seem to be in any particular danger. He could not say how he knew this, but he had a strong feeling that the man was not interested in hurting him in any way. His rapid breathing slowed and he began to calm down.

Trusting his instincts, Link relaxed as much as he could and took the time to examine his surroundings more closely. It was obvious now that he was in a cave. It was still not very well lit, but the cave’s mouth let in enough sunlight to see by. It was a fairly large cave, bigger than his bedroom at home. The wall across from Link jutted out in several places, like natural shelves, upon which were carefully arranged items that Link might have taken for random debris had it not been for the way they’d been placed there so neatly. He observed a row of small, reddish things that looked a bit like grenades and a lot of long, light greenish-brown bumpy pods. One of the rocky ledges was low enough to the ground to look like a bench. And Link had been sleeping on what looked like real fur arranged purposefully in a natural dip in the cave’s floor. Where his head had been was slightly higher up. And in the far corner by the entrance – 

His backpack! 

Something must have shown on his face, because the man followed Link’s gaze and immediately loped over to retrieve the bag. Link was struck by the smooth motion of those long limbs. Most men crawling in such a way would be slow and ungainly, but this man made it seem like a natural way of moving. The stranger dragged the bag by one strap and brought it slowly to Link’s side. This done, he retreated several steps and sat again, looking expectant.

Link’s hands slipped on the zipper in his haste to get the bag open. He had a full bottle of water in there, and his entire body was begging him to down it all. He got the bottle out and got the cap off with shaking hands and tossed back his head to pour a stream of cool, clean water directly into his parched throat. In his frantic state, he spilled more water over his face and down his chin, but it felt so refreshing that he didn’t care.

“Ahh,” he gasped when he lowered the bottle again. “Ahh, gosh, that’s so _good_. Oh.” His body shuddered in pleasure, and he drank deeply once again. It hit his stomach like a whole can of Red Bull, instantly invigorating. The cold water in his stomach woke his hunger, and once he put the bottle down he thrust a hand in his bag once again, feeling for the papery wrappers of the trail mix bars he’d packed.

The man inched closer, intent on examining the inside of Link’s bag, the wrapper from his snack bar, and the bottle of water perched on an angle but anchored in place by a crack in the stone floor. His interest puzzled Link at first, but his brain was quicker to act now that he had a little fluid in his body.

“Oh! Do you want some?” Link asked, flushing. The man had given him food and shelter and some medical care. Despite his oddities, he didn’t deserve to sit in the desert dying of dehydration while watching Link guzzle a gallon of water. “Here,” Link plucked the bottle out of the crevice and held it out, faintly regretting this generosity at the thought of dirt and disease and filth. His head was full of images of homeless people on the streets of LA, clad in rags with their mouths full of teeth as yellow as their fingernails. It was not their fault, and he knew better than to look down on people who had a hard lot in life, but all the same he would not like to drink out of the same bottle as a man who definitely did not own a toothbrush. On the heels of that thought came another – the image of the man’s small white teeth that looked whole and healthy, and the memory of the neutral scent of the man’s breath as his face hovered inches away. Naked and scary he might be, but dirty he was not. 

Link offered a tremulous smile and gestured with the bottle again, but the man did not move. “Well,” Link said as cheerfully as he could, “I’ll just put this here, then. You can…you can have some later, maybe.” He set the bottle down carefully. The display of proper manners complete, he crammed a large bite of his snack bar into his mouth and closed his eyes to savour the nutritious food. A few more bites, and his stomach began to quiet, saved from the worst of the hunger. Aware of the dangers of eating too fast after not having food in quite a while, he stopped halfway and stuffed the remainder of the bar back in his bag. He had several, and so again he tried handing one to his - captor? Saviour? He still did not know. “Here,” he said. “Eat something, at least.”

This time, the man took the offering. Link watched him examine it from all angles and press his fingertips down in the middle to test its texture. He squinted at the text - it was upside down - and tried to pull one end open as Link had. When he could not figure this out he brought it to his mouth and bit a corner carefully.

“I can help,” Link offered, but it was too late. The man jerked his head to the side and ripped half the packaging clear off. He had to be hungry - the light fruit snack he'd somehow acquired the night before was surely not enough to satiate such a huge man - but he regarded the exposed bar with great suspicion. He touched the slivers of nuts and chocolate chips and ran a finger along the sticky glaze that Link thought was molasses or honey. After smelling it carefully, he stuck out his tongue - small just like his teeth, and pointy - and licked one end.

Link laughed. “You act like you've never seen a granola bar before,” he told him. "Where are you _from_?"

The man furrowed his strong, dark eyebrows and bit into his bar. His eyes widened and he made a face, but when he saw Link looking he began to chew as if it was a chore. 

“They're not that bad,” Link said, as the man valiantly attempted another small bite. This time he carefully pushed the bar back into its foil wrapper and placed it on the nearest rocky ledge. _Maybe he's not hungry after all._

Link shrugged it off. The next step was to find the small first aid kit he kept. It wasn't much, but there was antiseptic spray, and he intended to clean the wound himself despite the man's attempt to use the mesquite tar. There were bandages as well to keep the dust and grime out.

“What bit me?” Link asked aloud as he uncapped the spray bottle. He knew the man couldn’t speak English, but it was impossible not to talk at all and he didn’t have the time to try and figure out another way of communication. When he rolled up the hem of his jeans he found that while his ankle no longer resembled a huge softball, it was still noticeably inflamed. An oddly-shaped welt in the middle featured a tiny bloody dot in its centre. Everything was smeared with the mesquite paste the weird man had made. It was no snake or Gila monster, Link concluded, but that did not narrow it down quite enough for him to make an official diagnosis. However, the fact that he was already feeling better was a good sign. When he touched his leg gingerly, the flesh was warm, but less numb than it had the night before. The pain was almost manageable. He gave the whole area a liberal dousing with the anti-septic and placed gauze and bandages on top of the whole welt after it had dried for a few moments.

Link was so absorbed in examining his injury that he barely noticed the man had come up to sit beside him. When he looked up, the man pointed to his eyes, and then crawl-walked over to the beam of sun that painted a crescent of light on the floor of his cave.

“What are you doing?”

The man squatted beside a patch of sand that seemed to have blown in from the mouth of the cave. Glancing up to make sure Link was watching, he extended a finger and began to make scratch marks in the sand. Link studied the man’s large hand, marvelling at its leathery calluses and thick long fingernails. Despite its size it moved with grace and dexterity. He drew a small oval, and then two curved pincers coming out from one end. Eight little stick-like legs, carefully segmented. From the back end, a big curved tail that swung up and over the front end. 

Link looked up into the man’s face, his mouth falling open in realization, and noticed with faint amusement that his little tongue was poked out in concentration as he drew.

“Scorpion,” Link said out loud.

The man pressed his fingernail at the end of the tail to make a pointed stinger, and then tapped it proudly. Then he tapped Link’s knee and indicated the man’s injury.

“That’s what got me, huh?” Link mused, forgetting the strangeness of the situation for a moment. “I guess there’s no point in me asking what kind of scorpion. They all look pretty much the same.” Bark scorpions were the most dangerous, he knew, although they rarely killed their victims. Most people just had to take antihistamines and painkillers and deal with varying levels of pain and other symptoms like nausea and dizziness. Link had had a taste of both last night, but now the only concern was the pain. It was bothersome, but not debilitating. He began to wonder if he should try to walk back to his car while he still water left. 

But then, cold reality sank in. Link could only remember the beginning of his trek. He knew he’d been heading vaguely southwest, judging by where the sun was in the sky, but he could not remember how long he’d been walking before the scorpion had stung him. The helplessness made him feel angry. He threw his backpack on the floor with force and fumed, cursing his own stupidity. Who else would take a hike through a vast expanse of desert without knowing exactly where they were going? Without a cell phone? Without a compass, without a map? He ought to be grateful that he'd bothered bringing water. Otherwise, a scorpion sting might have been the least of his worries. When his ankle gave another dull throb, Link muttered a curse under his breath and winced. The man was still watching him with something like pity in his face. Link closed his eyes, ashamed and weary and homesick beyond belief. After some time, he began to feel the anger fade.

“Scorpion,” the man said suddenly. 

Link jumped about a foot. “What? Where?!”

The man tapped the image he'd drawn again. “Scorpion?”

“Oh. Yeah, that's what that is." Link nodded and smiled tentatively, relieved. "Sorry, you freaked me out.”

Grinning now, the man drew another picture in the sand. This time it showed a tall, three-pronged, rounded object that puzzled Link until the man added tiny spines all over. He surveyed his work before looking up at Link with one eyebrow raised, waiting.

“It's a cactus,” said Link.

“Issacactus.”

“No - just cactus. Cactus.”

“Cactus,” the man repeated eagerly, looking for all the world like a massive kindergartener raising his hand to answer a teacher's question. He wiped a hand across the sand to erase what he'd drawn and began again.

 _Does he want me to teach him English?_ It seemed impossible that a man could live in California without having a few words of English at least. Link didn’t have the faintest idea of where to begin.

An idea was growing inside him slowly. It was ludicrous, but it was logical, and Link could not shake it off. Surely his addled thoughts were simply a side effect of the trauma he'd suffered. The man was not dumb, nor crazy, nor aggressive. He did not recognize the writing on the snack bar's wrapper, and Link supposed that even if he only spoke Spanish or Navajo or whatever, he'd know enough to look at the text the right way up. His reactions to Link's food, his bag, the items inside and the way Link used them - it was almost as if the man hadn't ever been around other people before. As if...

"Have you always lived here?" Link asked aloud, almost laughing a little at the concept. Surely nobody could live in an environment as desolate and unforgiving as the Mojave Desert. The man looked up as Link spoke, eyes creasing at the corners in amusement, and Link felt struck again by the warmth in those startlingly green eyes. He took the time to examine the man's naturally matted hair, the unshaven beard, the sun-bronzed and freckled skin. His arms were covered in small scars and burn marks and his hands looked hardened and well-used. From what was visible of his feet Link could see that their soles were as thick and tough as old leather. Intelligent, self-sufficient, eager for company, lacking verbal language but able to communicate, unaware of social taboos and the need for clothing – everything fit. 

The apples of the man’s cheeks seemed to flush more deeply the longer Link stared. Wanting to please, the man began to scratch in the sand once more, and this time the shape was immediately recognizable.

"Fish," Link said.

The man echoed the word. Then he mimed eating, and pointed at Link.

"Do I like to eat fish? Um..." Seafood wasn't really his thing. But he nodded anyway. What else could he do?

The man rolled to his feet and retrieved a two-pronged wooden spear from one of the many shelves in the cave walls. The base was covered in bark but the ends had clearly been carved into razor-sharp points. He grasped it expertly in his big hand and made a jab at the drawing to demonstrate.

"You're gonna catch a fish with that? Where are you gonna get a fish?" Even as Link spoke he remembered that the highway he'd been driving along was fairly close to a deep, isolated lake. He'd glanced at the area on Google Maps a few days before he'd left. "Is that where we are?" he asked eagerly, but of course the man could not reply. 

"Fish," was all he said, and as swiftly as a deer he darted out of the cave's mouth. Link was left alone, gaping stupidly after him. 

"Wait!" he cried, belatedly, and made to run to the door. As soon as he got to his feet and put his weight upon the injured ankle, the pins-and-needles feeling shot up past his knee and he sat down again in a hurry. It didn’t hurt, but he didn’t want to push his luck.

The cave seemed much more foreign without the feral man’s presence. Link leaned back against the wall, wondering what it would be like to spend his entire life here, alone. Though he seemed happy enough, the man had to be lonely, and long for a human companion. Perhaps he’d never seen another human before. It was unlikely – while the area wasn’t populated, there were hikers and bikers and mountain climbers and campers – but maybe the man had just been unlucky. _Or lucky, maybe. Who knows how someone would react to seeing a naked man hanging out alone out here?_ Like Link, their first thought would be that the man was insane. And at his size, it was hard not to take him as a threat. Link was unarmed and injured and had been forced to see the humanity behind the outward beastliness through his attempts to care for Link’s wounds.

 _Was that really all that convinced me not to be afraid?_ Something niggled at the corner of his mind – a feeling of familiarity, again, as if he’d met the man before. It was impossible, of course. Even if the man was living a normal life in the city, Link was a newcomer to this side of the country. 

_You’re just tired. Get some rest,_ he soothed himself. The man’s rough fur robe was still puddled on the floor. Link reached for it and pulled it on like a blanket. Despite the late morning and increasingly bright sun shining inside, it was chilly in the cave. It was pleasant to lean against the wall wrapped up snugly in his new friend’s robe. He closed his eyes and drifted off.

When he came to it felt as if no time had passed at all. The big man was slipping back inside the cave with four fish strung on a long bit of yucca twine. Their limp bodies wiggled back and forth as the man brandished his catch for Link to see. He noticed Link wearing his robe and seemed pleased at the sight.

“Hi,” Link said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. 

“Fish,” the man told him, proudly. 

“That’s right. Fish. Good to eat.” Link mimed eating as the man had. He could not recognize the fish. They were yellow in colour, with red cheeks and dark speckles from neck to tail fins. Link was reminded of the rainbow trout he’d caught years ago back home in North Carolina. The man laid them out on a slab of rock and took a sharper stone tool to hack the heads off, humming to himself. Using the same tool, he slit them open one by one to pull out the long spine and slivers of bone. Link had to look away, embarrassed to be grossed out by the commonplace task. It seemed like everyone back home loved to fish and hunt, and while Link participated, his heart had never been in it. Sitting in a boat was fun, and catching the fish was sometimes exciting, but the idea of eating his catch made him wince. 

Once all the fish were cleaned and gutted, the man grabbed the smallest one and held it up towards Link. “Eat?”

"Whoa, man, no way. Cooked fish is bad enough." Link thrust an arm out to ward it off. He could smell the fishy aroma too strongly already. It felt thick and grimy in his throat.

The man looked confused. Then he brought his hand to his own mouth, and before Link could yell in horror, he bit into the fish's stomach, seemingly unconcerned by the thin blood that trickled out. A gag threatened to choke Link as he watched the man chew the raw fish as calmly as Link might eat a cheeseburger. Link had to look away again, sickened. He’d never thought about how they were expected to actually eat the fish. 

“Can’t you cook them?” Link asked desperately. His body was craving protein and he didn’t want to down his entire supply of non-perishable food. For the moment he was willing to put aside his general hatred of seafood to eat some well-cooked flaky trout. “Fire? Can you make fire?” Gosh, it was hard to communicate without words. An idea seized him and he grabbed his backpack eagerly. He had a book of matches somewhere in the side pockets and he hoped they were still intact. When he found them, he struck one. The man’s eyes went huge at the sight of the sudden flame and his mouth dropped open when Link brought it close to one of the fish. 

“Fire,” Link raised the hand with the match. “Cook.” He brought the match down near the fish again.

“Fire,” the man said amiably, glancing at the cave’s entrance with a frown. He grabbed a large branch and a number of smaller sticks from a shelf and gestured for Link to follow. Link did, crawling on his hands and knees to avoid putting weight on the bandaged ankle.

Outside, the world was warm and bright. The sun was still low in the sky and not half as fierce as it had been when Link had decided to try a solo desert hike. Looking at the man’s bare skin – and definitely not lingering on his pert rear end – Link thought he understood why the man was so speedy about catching the fish and hesitant to build a fire. A man could not expect to spend a great deal of time outdoors in the daytime, especially such a fair-skinned one. But with the cave’s limited ventilation, a fire inside would be impossible.

Fifteen yards or so from the cave was a deep crevice, filled with branches and light dry grass. Link would have taken it for an accident, but he saw the reason and purpose of it now. A ready supply of tinder for a fire, stored in a natural fire pit. It was his instinct to arrange the tinder more neatly but the man smacked his hand away with a frown.

“Scorpion,” he said in a scolding tone, and Link was confused until he realized that a woodpile would indeed be a perfect place to find another bark scorpion.

“Oh.” He sat back on his butt awkwardly. “Sorry. Do your thing, man. I’ll just watch.”

“Cook,” the man muttered, picking up the larger branch and wedging it firmly under a boulder on the other side of the fire pit, his eyes continually darting everywhere to search for potential danger. The middle of the bigger stick featured a deep gouge. When he took the smaller branch and placed it against the bigger on at an angle, it slotted into the groove perfectly. The muscles in the man’s arms bulged and danced as he began to rub the smaller branch firmly back and forth, fast as a whip. 

Link offered the book of matches he’d stuffed in his pocket, but the man waved them away with a frown. _He’s scared of them!_ Link thought in amusement. It made no matter. Evidently, the man didn’t need them. Smoke was already curling thinly from the gouge, and the man was still going strong. His skill took Link’s breath away as the man tipped the branch and spill the coal he’d made over the dry grass, then leaned in to blow gently until more and more smoke billowed out. The cave that had first seemed so primitive and the desert that seemed so empty had everything the man needed. 

With deft hands the man split the fish down the middle and pulled them apart into large slabs. These he threaded with two sticks to keep them stretched into fillets. The first finished fish was handed to Link.

“Thanks!” Link still didn’t like fish, but this was almost fun. He stuck the fish over the emerging flames. He didn’t know how long it took to cook, but he held it steady as the man gave the same treatment to all of the fish and then began propping them up over the fire by weighting the ends of the sticks with nearby rocks. Link considered doing the same, but he liked rotating the fish fillet over the fire and hearing the little crackling sounds of the flesh cooking. For the moment he forgot about his ankle and his disdain for eating fish. It had been a long time since he’d had a friend to camp with, and the smell of the fire and the easy, mostly silent companionship felt just like his trips to the Cape Fear River with high school friends years ago.

“Cook.” The man’s voice broke the silence. Link jerked to attention and pulled his fish out of the fire. The flesh had turned brown and flaky. Curls of steam rose in lazy spirals. 

“Good to eat?” Link asked.

“Eat,” the man confirmed, and then blew lightly on one of his own fish to show Link how it was done. Link blew the steam from one end obediently and tried a small bite. 

“Ow!” He pulled his lips back from his teeth. The man looked over at him. “It’s _hot_ ,” Link gasped, laughing a little. 

The man looked at him, nonplussed, and bit into his own fish practically straight out of the flames. “Eat,” he said again. It was a statement, not an order. Link could almost hear a note of humour in that one word and wondered if the man was making fun of him.

“I’m sensitive, okay?” Link told him, feigning indignation. “It’s not my fault I’m not as tough as you. Where I come from, you buy fish covered in breadcrumbs that you can just pop into the oven and serve with French fries and tartar sauce.”

The man made a weird face, his small mouth opening wide and his even teeth barely showing. It took a moment for Link to realize that the man was imitating him. “Hey!” he shouted, laughing and smacking the man on the arm lightly. His friend grinned and laughed along in his rich, deep voice.

Link was having so much fun that he was able to eat almost the entire fish and part of a second. The tail was the only part that grossed him out too much to attempt. The wild man, of course, ate everything, even the pieces with bones inside. He pulled them from his mouth with absolute indifference. Link only wished that the man could carry on a better conversation. He had so many questions. Had he always lived in the desert? Had he run away as a kid? How had nobody ever discovered him and how happy was he with living alone? Link felt he’d go crazy without company. 

The sun was beginning to get uncomfortably hot and, after smothering the fire, both men retreated into the safety of the cave. Link was shown how to clean his hands with sand before they went inside. He was sure that this didn’t work as well as the man thought it did, but he had to admit, the man’s hands weren’t covered in fish guts and neither of them smelled especially fishy. All Link could smell was the smoke from their fire. _He must bathe,_ Link decided. _That lake where he caught the fish – maybe he’ll take me there later, if I figure out how to ask._

“I need to figure out a name for you,” mused Link as he knelt on the floor of the cave. ‘Desert Man’, which is what he kept calling the feral man in his head, was getting old fast. The man turned his head slightly at the sound of his voice and suddenly the feeling of familiarity struck Link once again. Something about the strawberry highlights in his hair and his unusually protuberant eyes made him remember a funny-looking kid in his class back home in North Carolina. He’d been outgoing and gregarious, a sharp contrast to Link’s more cautious and anxious nature, but they’d gotten along well. Link remembered how heavy his heart had been when the kid had left halfway through second grade to move back to California with his family. He cast his memory back to fish for the kid’s name and seized upon it in less than a minute. 

“You look like someone I used to know,” he said. “Can I call you Rhett?” He gave the man a small smile.

The man lit up and smiled back. He rose from his crouched position and stretched languidly. Link was continually amazed at how quickly the man could get to his feet. The sheer height of him only increased Link’s awe, as did his oddly handsome face. In dim light, the wild man could almost have passed for a regular long-haired man…except for his nudity, of course. He had absolutely no sense of shame and did not attempt to slouch or cover himself with his hands. When standing, his groin was directly in Link’s face. Link stood up quickly to avoid staring for too long.

“Rhett,” Link said carefully, taking a step towards him. “Rhett,” he repeated, pointing at the man. 

Rhett tilted his head to the side, looking suddenly wistful. Link didn’t know what he was expecting. It wasn’t as if Rhett could nod or shake his head to show his opinion. He’d hoped Rhett would repeat the name and grasp the concept as he had with the few simple words he’d learned before, but for some reason the feral man looked distracted. 

“What’s wrong, Rhett?”

“Rhett,” the man repeated slowly, his brow furrowing. He looked right into Link’s eyes but seemed to be gazing right through him. “Rhett…”

“If you don’t like it, that’s okay.” Link shuffled his feet and thought for a moment. “We could try Luke, as in Skywalker…but that’s a pretty lame reference. Not that you’d care.” He glanced up at the roof of the cave, thinking hard. “Finn, maybe? I’ve always wanted to name my kid something from the series. I guess it’s kinda late for kids though.” He chuckled to hide the hurt that rose in his throat. While all his friends back home were married and living with their families, Link had never been lucky enough to find somebody who loved him enough to want to embark on such a journey. It was possibly the only thing about his life that bothered him. In a few more years he’d be forty, and while kids at that age weren’t _impossible_ , it would become fairly unlikely.

When he came back to earth and looked at the man again, Link was startled to see that he was crying. 

“Hey,” Link said in alarm. “Are you okay?”

“Rhett,” the man croaked.

Link did not understand, but he was moved by the tears streaming from the man’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “Did I offend you? I didn’t mean…” He hesitated.

“Rhett,” Rhett mumbled, and touched his own chest. Then he touched Link’s and tilted his head.

Link knew what to do. “Link,” he said. “Link.”

“Link.” Rhett seemed to like this. “Link!”

“Yes!” Link hugged him instinctively, moved by what had happened and the level of communication they had achieved.

Rhett stiffened at first and then grabbed Link around the shoulders awkwardly. Link stumbled, surprised by the strength in those hands, but Rhett’s strong arms held him sturdy. He felt the tall man’s nose brush the top of his hair and heard him inhale deeply. _I probably smell like crap,_ Link thought, but Rhett didn’t seem to mind. He trailed his nose through Link’s hair and down to the shell of his ear, which he nuzzled, making Link shiver. 

“Link,” he breathed, his mouth moving to Link’s forehead. His lips were soft and dry. “Mmm.”

Link pressed his face against Rhett’s chest and noticed how it was rising up and down quickly. Link pulled away and looked down to see the source of the wild man’s excitement. It brought an immediate blush to his cheeks and he gasped. 

Rhett was growing visibly aroused. Despite his best efforts not to stare, Link already knew that the man was gifted, to say the least. Now, as his member stiffened, Link was transfixed by its size. He had only recently come to terms with his attraction to men, and his immediate reaction to the sight of Rhett's thick, curved manhood swaying inches from Link's stomach was both shameful and tremendously exciting. 

Rhett's arms tightened, bringing Link closer, his hands running clumsily down Link's back. His manhood twitched, and when Link looked down he saw moisture at its tip. He gasped and the noise was drowned out by a breathy groan from deep within Rhett's throat. Link's base urges seemed to drown his fear and anxiety and he found it difficult to suppress his own moan. It was wrong, it could be dangerous - the man was bigger, stronger, faster, and most of all, practically a complete stranger - and yet Link felt an inexplicable connection to him. _Trusted_ him, even, and that was definitely his erection doing his thinking for him, because who in their right mind would trust a feral man who lived in the desert?

It was strangely pleasant to be approached so openly. No flirty words or boasts or whispers in his ear, no working up to a kiss after a first date. No awkward fumbling in the backseat of a car. Just a man looking at him hungrily, fully erect, wanting and waiting. It was pure honesty, pure lust, and Link's wicked side awoke with a slow lazy burn somewhere deep in his groin.

Link knew he should be scared. He should be pushing the man away with an indignant shout. Instead he let Rhett hold him by the hips, the corded muscles in his arms and neck dancing with every movement, his glistening manhood brushing the front of Link's shirt and leaving a wet smear. Link looked up into the taller man's face, eyes wide, blushing hard in embarrassment even as he could _feel_ the way his pupils were dilating with desire. He was not normally shy in bed, but he did not have much experience with men. Compared to Rhett's broad, bronzed, and muscled body, Link felt pale and weak. However, Rhett was looking down at him as though he was the best-looking man in the world, and Link felt rather flattered by his attention. He put his hands on Rhett's chest and ran his fingers softly through the small patch of hair there, remembering the pleased noise Rhett had made the night before when he'd done the same thing.

It was at this moment that Rhett decided to sink to his knees, carrying Link with him. Before Link could do anything, he was being pushed over onto his side. He caught himself with his hands flat in the cool sand, and Rhett’s hands slid to his waist, urging him onto all fours.

“Jeeze, Rhett, what the heck!” Link was sure he was blushing furiously. 

Rhett’s fingers scrabbled at the waistband of his jeans and Link arched his back to pull away. 

“Look, I’m not saying I don’t like you,” Link twisted his hips to thwart Rhett’s attempts. “This is just – I’m not sure we should be – whoa!” 

“Link,” Rhett moaned, and gave an extra-hard tug at his waistband. He could not figure out how Link’s jeans came off, and so Link did not feel overly threatened. If anything, he almost wanted to laugh. The poor guy was either very starved for human interaction, or he had a crush. Now that Link had seen Rhett’s soft side, he was amused rather than afraid or horrified. After all, he found Rhett handsome, too. If the circumstances were different, and they’d had a few dates already, maybe Link would be willing. But as things stood, it was too much. He’d only been awake for a few hours but his head was spinning with everything that had happened to him. Even if his body was physically ready, he was not mentally prepared to move this quickly.

“No,” Link said sternly, flattening himself down on his belly. Rhett moved with him, lying on top of him with his erection pressing hard between Link’s clothed cheeks. “No, Rhett.” He turned on his side and pushed Rhett’s shoulder away firmly but gently. This Rhett seemed to understand, and he rolled off, looking bewildered. He stared at Link. His eyes were pleading.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you want it, but I’m not that kind of guy,” Link joked, and crawled over to snuggle comfortably into the nest. “How about we just sleep?”

The musty smell of the fur now seemed pleasant. Rhett hovered uncertainly nearby, perhaps still thinking of Link's continued rejections, but when Link patted the ground beside him, he immediately laid down. Link noted that he left a respectful few inches between their bodies. "It's okay," he told Rhett. "We can cuddle." He shuffled closer until he could put an arm around Rhett's waist. “Later when the sun goes down, maybe you can show me around…maybe show me where you caught that fish…and hopefully I can get you to tell me where the highway is, so I can go home.”

Rhett grunted contentedly. His erection was beginning to flag, though he still looked at Link with admiration.

“And maybe,” Link spoke again, struck by the idea, “maybe I can bring you home with me, so you don’t have to live here alone any more.”


	4. Mates

Having a mate was hard to do, Rhett decided as he woke to the crimson glow of the sunset and regarded the smaller body beside him. There was much to learn. Much to teach. He did not understand why the blue leg covers did not come off or why Link did not want to mate. Link liked him, he could tell, and yet he had pushed him away again. Maybe he wanted Rhett to learn more mouth sounds first. He resolved to try very hard. Link spoke very fast and there seemed to be some more common mouth sounds that had to go around the ones that referred to the good fish and the bad crawling thing. His mate must be very smart to have learned so many and Rhett decided to ignore how dumb he was about many other things. Link was the nicest thing that Rhett had ever seen and he smelled good and sounded good and felt good when he put his hands on Rhett. It was okay that he didn’t know how to eat fish right or where the bad scorpions lived. It was okay that he liked to eat nasty food that was so sweet that it hurt his tongue and belly.

He watched Link sleep, thinking about the sound that Link had called him. _Rhett_. It was very strange, but he felt like he already knew that sound. He felt as if he’d heard another person call him that before, long long ago, in the white cave with all the big animals that looked like him but could pick him up and carry him around. Even more strangely, he felt like he knew the sound _Link_ , too. 

Rhett stretched his limbs languidly, pondering the mysteries of life as he waited for Link to wake up so they could have more fun together. He had to wait a long time. Link was very sleepy. The body cover Link wore was pulling up a little to show Rhett the soft white belly underneath and he was content to stare at it for a long time. His mate’s fur was darker than his own and the belly smaller. When he touched it, he couldn’t help but caress it gently. It was so soft and warm. It made him want the mating to happen again and so he stopped touching. He would wait until Link tried to do the mating with him first. 

Link finally opened his eyes. They were the colour of the sky in the time of day that Rhett slept. Rhett looked at them admiringly.

“Hi,” his mate said, and rubbed his face. “Do you ever sleep?”

“Hi,” Rhett said back, grinning big. He wanted so bad to get out and explore the desert with his mate. It was hard to wait as Link slowly yawned and stretched and checked the nearly-healed welt on his ankle before stretching out on his back again. Rhett wanted to cuddle more, and he tried, but Link moved away.

“I have to pee,” he said. “Uh – can I just go outside? Anywhere?”

Rhett didn’t know what to do with all those sounds. “Pee,” he said hopefully, and was startled but happy when Link made a small laugh.

“Yeah, man, move over. I gotta take a leak before I explode.”

Rhett watched anxiously as his mate headed to the opening to the outside. At first he was cautious walking on the bad leg, but after a few steps he seemed not to hurt at all. When he tried to follow, Link said, “No.” He knew what that mouth sound meant and stopped following. He listened hard, and when he heard the faint noises he knew what Link was doing and settled back in the nest, relieved. He was not quite sure why he couldn’t watch, but his mate was strange about showing his body. 

When he came back inside, Rhett was ready. His mate could walk and come with him. He pointed to the clear thing that somehow had water trapped inside.

“Water,” Link said.

“Water,” Rhett agreed, happy to see Link’s good face tell him that he had made the right sound. Link picked up the water and held it out, but Rhett simply grasped it and put it back. The clear stuff crinkled in his hand and made him jump, but then Link laughed again and Rhett laughed too. He liked to see Link smile. 

“I don’t get it,” Link said. “Are you thirsty?”

Rhett waved impatiently, pointing to the outside. “Water,” he said firmly. He wanted to take Link to the big place to drink and swim. 

Link‘s eyes brightened. “You want to take me to the water?” 

Rhett was desperate to copy this. “Youwan to take…Take, to water.”

“That was good!” Link made his front paws smack together. Rhett tried hard not to jump again. His mate was much too loud. “Okay,” said Link, and when he stood up Rhett knew he understood and was glad. “Let’s go. I need a bath pretty bad.” He picked up his water holder too. "Guess I'll fill this up. The water's gotta be okay to drink if that's what you've been living off of.”

Rhett led the way. Down the rocks and around the big spiny bush and out where the land went flat with lots of small dark green plants, and then straight towards the reddish star in the sky that showed him where the water was. Every step was careful. His mate wore things on his feet that looked very tough, but Rhett still worried that his silly mate would step on a small animal again and get hurt. He watched the ground very hard to make sure this did not happen. Once he saw a lizard but it was very far away. They both could hear the howling coming from far across the desert. Link was very deaf to all the little sounds in the desert but even he could hear the yipping and barking and looked nervous. Rhett was not scared of the small reddish-grey animals with the long noses and big ears. If he saw one or more he would make a very loud sound and they’d run.

The land sloped down. Link made a noise. He could see the water now and he looked very impressed. "Wow!" he said. "This is beautiful!"

Rhett’s chest swelled. Showing his mate new things made him feel proud. It was good to look at, almost as good as looking at his mate. The big water place was surrounded by lots of plants and shrubs and some trees that made small hard things that were very good to eat. He came here almost every day. So did many other animals. Every animal in the desert needed water. Rhett was happy to be here again as he always was. He took Link to the place where the land went slowly down into the nice cool water. Sometimes he jumped off the top of a big hill headfirst to splash smoothly in and go down very far to see if he could touch the bottom, but he did not want his mate to attempt it. 

Rhett paused when they were close and tugged at his mate’s shoulder. When he had Link’s attention, he indicated the body covers that he did not need. He only wore his fur to keep him warm in his cave or when he needed to venture outside in the daytime. It was not good to bring in the water.

“Oh,” Link said, biting his lower lip in a way Rhett found exciting. “I guess I gotta disrobe, huh?” He looked right up at Rhett and his cheeks turned pink when he took off the upper part of the cover. 

It was hard not to become aroused again as he looked at his mate’s bare skin. Link was looking at him too, seeing the way Rhett stared, and he made a noise that sounded both happy and nervous. “You’re not gonna try anything again, right?” said Link as he used his fingers to do something to the front part of his lower covers that made them open. This made the tight waist able to be pulled down past the swell of his hips. Rhett filed this away in his head for when Link was ready to do mating. 

Finally, his mate stood completely exposed to Rhett’s eyes. Rhett could not help himself. He put his hands on his mate’s small middle and pulled their bodies together. Link had done the same thing to him after they ate the good fish but it felt much better without stupid covers on. To be polite he did not put his hands anywhere but Link’s back.

The little body shuddered in his arms. Rhett sensed his approval and held him closer, pushing his thigh up against the parts between his mate’s legs. It felt so good that he forgot about wanting to go into the water. “Mmmmh,” he rumbled into Link’s ear, a deep chest noise. 

“Rhett, come on,” Link was getting excited like him, but he was pulling away. “You’re very distracting, but I do want to bathe. I bet you could smell my armpits even if you were all the way back in your cave.”

Rhett tugged at him again, unsure if his mate was teasing, and then he heard the word, “No” very clearly. He obediently stopped touching his mate, but it was very frustrating. It was hard to tell if Link was upset.

“I’m not mad, don’t worry,” said Link in a soft voice when Rhett did not move for a while, awkward and unsure of himself. “I just need some time to think about it, okay?”

A soft hand touched the fur on Rhett’s chin, petting it. Rhett pushed his face into the touch and knew that he was forgiven. 

Link made a smile and then turned to look out over the water. Looking at him from behind made Rhett want to calm his body down very fast. He knew one good way to do this. Patting Link on the top of the head affectionately, Rhett turned and ran straight into the water, legs pumping high. As soon as he was waist deep he shot forward with his head just beneath the surface. The force of his run propelled him far and he kicked his feet fast to make him go way way out.

Rhett popped his head up, scanned all around the shoreline for danger, and turned toward his mate, who was still standing where he’d left him. “Link!” he called, quietly, to let his voice carry naturally over the water. There was no real danger but it was his habit to be quiet just in case. The only animal that might bother them was the mountain lion, but Rhett knew she had small animals with her now and was not coming to the water place often any more. 

Link took off the black squares on his face and put them carefully on a big rock. Then he stepped hesitantly into the water. “Cold!” he shouted to Rhett. Rhett ignored his loudness once again and swam in a circle, showing his mate how fast he could move. He took a long drink and then put his head under to get everything wet and clean and good. To help, he kicked his way down to the bottom, retrieved some wet sand, and scrubbed his hands and feet with it. When he bounced up again, his mate was still standing only up to his knees, looking worried.

“You can hold your breath forever,” Link commented, taking another step forward and making a face. Rhett smiled at the silly behaviour. It was much, much easier to simply go right in. He always got used to the water much more quickly this way. Rhett swam to where he could stand up and made big movements with his hand, urging his mate out further.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He took another step. "Gosh, Rhett. You'd think the sun would heat this up more during the day. How deep is this lake, anyway? Hard to tell in the dark." He made a high-pitched noise, but it wasn't as hurting to Rhett's ears as the fear noises he made back in the cave and after the _scorpion_ hurt him. Then Link was laughing, and finally he got waist-deep and fell forward clumsily into the water and started to paddle towards Rhett. He did not move so good as Rhett but he was not going to the bottom. Rhett watched him put his head under and rub the fur on his head vigorously. Then he put his arms up and did the same to the furry places there. 

When Link seemed content with how clean he was, Rhett swam closer and ducked underneath the water, sneaking up close and stretching out his hands to grab a handful of his mate’s bottom. Even from underwater he heard Link’s yelp followed by a laugh. The smaller man backpedaled and got his feet back on the sand below and Rhett popped up from behind him to put his face on Link’s shoulder. He wanted very much to touch Link’s bottom again and so he did, with both hands this time, squeezing the soft flesh there happily. 

“You just don’t stop, huh?” Link said in a tone that let Rhett know he liked the touching too. “And your hands are so _big_. Gosh, that feels good. You’re – you’re big all over.” He let Rhett’s hands explore for a minute and then turned around so he was looking right up into Rhett’s face. 

This was _very_ good. His mate looked especially pretty when wet. It made it hard for Rhett to breathe. He _wanted_ , wanted so bad, but he was sure there was still something he needed to do before Link let the mating happen, and he was afraid of being told _no_ again. He looked at Link quizzically, waiting to see what would happen.

Beneath the water, Link’s hands came up and gently settled on Rhett’s waist. “I’m gonna do something, okay? I feel weird, because I can’t ask you, but I’m pretty sure you’ll like it. Usually this happens before…before anything else. Okay?”

Slowly, Link leaned forward. Rhett stayed still, confused, eyes wide as their noses touched and sent good feelings up and down his back. He didn’t know what to expect, but then Link tilted his head and put his mouth up against Rhett’s mouth and held it there.

It was very, very strange, but very, very good. After a few moments Link pulled away with a soft noise, and they both took a breath and moved back together. Rhett’s head went fuzzy at the smell and taste of his mate.

“That was a kiss,” his mate said when he pulled away again. “Kiss. When two people like each other, they kiss.”

“Kiss,” Rhett said, excited. “Link, kiss.”

“Okay,” Link said very quietly, and the kiss happened again. This time Link made his tongue touch Rhett’s lips and even go inside his mouth, and all his senses were overcome with happiness. Between his legs, the good part of his body there was hard again. It was touching Link on the stomach. Link was not pulling away or saying no. Rhett tried inching his feet closer for more touching and Link still did not pull away. He was looking down at Rhett’s hardness.

“Rhett,” his mate said in a little whisper. “I…This is crazy, but I…It’s so hard to resist you. I want you, I can’t help myself…”

Rhett reached through the water and put a hand on Link’s thigh. Link made a noise and suddenly grabbed Rhett and started pulling him towards the edge of the water. Once they were out, Link pushed him down onto his bottom and then he sat too, right up close to Rhett. They made another kiss together, and then his mate breathed out hard and put a hand down between Rhett’s legs to firmly grab the stiff thing there.

“Aaah,” Rhett said, shocked but delighted. Link moved his hand up and down slowly. It was something Rhett had done on himself with his own hand, but to have his mate do it felt much, much better. Link’s hand was very smooth and slipped up and down very easily with the wetness Rhett was making. Normally he did not like to make loud noises but suddenly he found that he could not help himself from groaning deeply. There was a lot of wetness, more than Rhett usually made, because he was more excited now than he’d ever been before.

“Oh,” Link’s lips parted and he almost made a growl. “You’re messy. I – I love it.” He swallowed hard. The bump in his throat went up and down. Rhett wanted to put his mouth on it but he could not move. He was helpless for his mate. It would normally have been scary to feel so vulnerable but it only made him more excited now.

It took a little time for Rhett to see that his mate was hard too. He stared. It was not so big as his own and there was more fur around it. It was pretty, like the rest of Link. At the tip there was a shiny spot. Rhett touched it first and made Link’s body twitch. Then he turned his hand sideways and held it gently. When he stroked it, Link moaned and made his own hand tighter around Rhett, and then they were both moving their hands together on each other.

He didn’t know enough words to tell Link everything he wanted to say. “Good,” he said, hopefully. “Link…”

“Oh, yeah, it’s good. It’s so good, Rhett, oh, my God, faster, come on, like _this_ …yeah, copy me, that’s right, oh, _Rhett_ …”

It was cold but Link’s forehead glistened with sweat. They moved closer as one, connected. Link’s other hand went below and cupped the very sensitive sack underneath Rhett’s hardness. Rhett groaned very loud. The smell of his mate’s arousal and his own filled his nose. It was good, too good, much too good, and Rhett wanted to make this last longer but could not help himself. His white stuff came out, splashing on his mate’s stomach and hand, and Link’s touch became more gentle and he squeezed the last of it out very softly.

“Wow,” Link said, his voice trembling. “Oh, goodness, Rhett, that was hot.”

Usually Rhett wanted to sleep after that happened, but his mate was still hard and making his hips push up into Rhett’s hand. Rhett tried to make Link happy by touching him the same way, one hand going up and down and the other curved gently around the heavy sack that filled his palm. This made Link start to make louder noises and Rhett’s fingers went further, behind to where the skin was puckered around the very tight hole. He rubbed his fingertips around it and Link’s voice broke as he called Rhett’s name loudly.

Warmth spilled out over Rhett’s hand and onto his leg. Link cried out, a short high note that echoed over the water, and then his body went limp and he fell onto Rhett. Rhett let go of him and put his arms around his shoulders to make sure he did not fall onto the ground. His eyes were closed and Rhett closed his too. For a long time they held onto each other, chests heaving, until they calmed.

Rhett opened his eyes and looked up at the stars, still feeling breathless but deeply satisfied and at peace. They needed food soon and so they could not rest long, but he wished he could have a short sleep here with Link. His mate looked sleepy too.

“I’m gonna pass out if we lay here much longer. Let’s clean up,” Link decided, and stood up to walk back in the water. He went only waist-deep this time. Rhett followed, understanding that it was a good idea, but a little sad that he did not get to look at the white stuff he made on Link’s skin. To make up for this he helped Link clean up, because it meant he could touch Link more.

“Easy, easy,” Link giggled as Rhett’s hands cleaned places that did not really need to be cleaned. “I’m getting too old to go for a second round so fast. And it’s kind of cold out here. Maybe when we get back to your cave, okay?” Link’s fingers walked up Rhett’s ribs and made a very embarrassing squawk come out of Rhett’s throat. “Ticklish, huh?” said his mate. “Well, that’s good to know. I’ll be sure to remember.” Link’s hands went up and down the sides of Rhett’s body and Rhett could not stop giggling.

A shape darted past their legs. Rhett’s giggles stopped and his muscles went taut as he followed the water currents of its movement. The shape went into a crack between two rocks. 

“What are you looking at?” Link asked in alarm, rearing away and shuffling his feet nervously. “There aren’t water snakes or anything in here that bites, right?”

Luckily his mate’s loud voice did not scare the food away. Rhett put a hand on Link’s shoulder. “Fish,” he said quietly before he went under the water, fingers reaching for the rocks where the fish had hidden. When he found it he kept his strong hand near the crack and used the other to tap loudly on the rock from the other side. Just as he knew it would, the scared fish shot out from the crack and into Rhett’s hand, which closed at lightning speed. When he came out of the water he showed Link the fish, grinning.

“Did you just catch that with your bare hands?” Link asked, sounding impressed. "Wow, Rhett!"

“Fish good to eat, fire,” Rhett told him. It was not his favourite, the kind he'd caught for Link before, but they were big and filling. 

They both got out of the water again. The fish wiggled around frantically. Rhett smacked its head with a rock to stop it from flopping and put it on the ground for now. He had a little food back in his cave but he could get more for Link to eat. His mate stepped back into the shallow water, peering beneath the black surface as if he was looking for fish, too. The black squares were back on his face. Maybe they helped him see better. Still, he did not see any more fish. Rhett was not surprised. 

Rhett cleaned and gutted the fish while Link waded around knee-deep in the water, looking content. He made a good sound when Rhett came and gave the top of his mate’s head a nuzzle before washing the fish blood off his hands in the water. All seemed safe, so Rhett went back to shore and easily scaled a sheer rock face to access the good fruit Link liked and the long pods of the good plant that made the sticky stuff to put on cuts and wounds. The very small spikes got in the back of his hand but it did not hurt too badly. To hold the food he took big leaves and wove them together efficiently to make a carrying basket. This he held in his mouth and went back down the steep rocks backward. On the way down he found a nest he did not know about, and in the nest were four big eggs. Rhett took two and put them very carefully in the basket, nestled among the pods. 

Link looked scared when Rhett came down, wincing a little. “You climb like that in the dark? I don’t even see any handholds! What would I do if you hurt yourself?” 

“Hmmm,” Rhett made an unhappy noise and held out his hand, playing up the minor injury. Link examined the area and exclaimed over it and then used his smaller fingers to pluck out the spikes. “Cactus,” Rhett said suddenly, remembering. It was much different from the picture he’d made for Link, but the plants were very similar. 

“Yeah, you got spiked by one, didn’t you? I think I got ‘em all,” Link said, looking close. “Here, let me make it feel better.” He made a kiss on Rhett’s hand and Rhett smiled. Then he showed him the basket and Link seemed excited again. “That’s the fruit you gave me in the middle of the night, isn’t it? Prickly pears, I think they’re called. I liked them. How will you cook those eggs?” He pointed.

Rhett caught a few words but did not understand. Eggs did not go on the fire like the fish. Another thing he had to teach his mate. He patted Link’s hand and then decided to copy what he’d done and kiss the fingers.

Link was pleased. “You’re definitely the romantic type, huh?”

He was disappointed so see his mate start putting his covers back on. “Clothes,” Link called them. Jeans were the bottoms, shirt was the top. Under the jeans there was something else. Rhett wanted to know more sounds, and so on the walk home he busied himself by pointing at random things and repeating the sounds for them. He said them over and over in his head so he would not forget. He showed Link the good food again and Link taught him the sounds for all the different things. More memories stirred within Rhett’s mind as some of the words began to make sense.

When they were home again, Rhett built another fire with his two sticks and they roasted their fish the same way they did before. Link refused to touch the eggs and watched with a strange expression as Rhett poked holes in the shells with his fingers and sucked out the insides.

“Are they _fertilized?_ ” Link asked, sounding fascinated. “What kind of eggs are those? That's gross, man, I don't know how you can do that.” He ate the fruit, though, and a handful of what he called seeds, and seemed to like them. After they ate, Rhett allowed the fire to burn longer than he would have normally. Fire could be seen for a long ways off, and maybe bring the bad animals that looked like himself and his mate, and he didn't always have enough sticks to make one. Link liked to be close to the fire. Rhett had the strange feeling that he would do many stupid things to make Link happy.

He was content to sit beside his mate, listening to the whispering sand and the far-off howling and barking. His stomach was full and his body was clean and his mate was safe and fed. He let Rhett touch his back and sides and neck and head with soft fingers.

After a while Link stirred and made a picture in the sand to show Rhett. It showed a big square place where the bad animals came in their loud machine. 

“Where is this, Rhett? This is a gas station.” He drew a small square with markings in it. “This logo should be on there somewhere. It should light up at night. Bright, you know, like...” He pointed at the moon. Rhett understood at once and his mate saw the understanding on his face.

“Can you take me there tomorrow, before sundown?” his mate asked hopefully. Rhett heard the mouth sound that Link had made before, when Rhett was going to bring him to the water. _Take_. Did his mate want to go to that bad place?

A knot made Rhett's stomach bad as he realized what Link wanted. He was going to leave Rhett and go back to the other animals. His mouth fell open and he gaped.

“I'm going to come back,” Link said quickly. He pointed to himself and made his fingers look like legs walking to the square. Then, far away he drew a tall stick man and pointed at Rhett. The walking front legs went off into the distance and then came back to the stick man, and Rhett understood. "I will come back," he said again.

“I will come back,” Rhett repeated perfectly, but Link shook his head. He placed a hand on his chest and said, “I. Or _me_.” To Rhett he gestured. “You.”

“You will come back,” Rhett corrected himself and knew he was right.

“Right. To the lake. Where the water is. Where we…” He blushed. “Well, I’ll be able to find it on a map. I’ll get a compass and make sure I come prepared this time. You won’t have to rescue me again.”

Rhett did not know what to think. Now that they had shared that special feeling and made the kisses, he had assumed that they’d simply be together from now on. What if Link forgot about him or didn’t want to come back? What if he met another mate who was bigger and stronger and better than Rhett? His eyes itched and he rubbed at them hard.

“Rhett,” his mate said softly. “I’ll come back, I promise. Don’t cry.”

“Link,” he choked out. His throat felt bad and tight. “Link…I don’t want…Don’t go away. Don‘t leave.” The mouth sounds came out without Rhett having to think about them and he felt suddenly strange. Link had not taught him those words but he knew what they meant.

Link made a gasp. “Did you just…”

Rhett stared back, wonderstruck. Hadn’t he used to make these mouth sounds all the time? He used to be able to say things just like Link…

Link was talking. “Of course, you couldn’t have been _born_ out here. You must have had a regular family until something happened. You’re remembering!”

Now his brain was all jumbled and the brief moment of comprehension was gone. Rhett was wordless again. Then Link was holding him tight again and that was much too distracting to think about mouth sounds.

“Look at me,” Link said suddenly and took Rhett’s chin in his hand. He made Rhett turn his head until their faces were almost together. His mate’s beauty made the tightness in his throat stop and he even almost smiled again. “Your face…you _do_ remind me of him…It’s been so long…but I know my mom has pictures from back then of me and him…or me and _you_ …” He seemed to be talking to himself. “I can look this up when I get home. Maybe there was a news story about a missing kid.” When he looked at Rhett again his face changed. “You’re upset,” he said more quietly. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine what you’re thinking about. You must be so confused. I guess…I guess we should go to bed now, if we’re going to walk to the gas station before the sun goes down.”

Link pointed at the sky, and Rhett knew what the sun was before Link could try to explain. “Sun,” Rhett said, pointing east and miming the sun coming up.

“That’s right!” Link pointed in the opposite direction. “And I have to be at the gas station - ” he pointed at his sand picture - “ _before_ the sun goes back down.”

They’d be walking during the day, but it was not very far. Rhett would have to wear his fur to not get burnt by the sun. If his mate needed to go there, Rhett would bring him. He nodded.

“Let’s get to bed,” said Link.

Rhett’s fur robe was big enough for both of them to sleep beneath if they curled up tight together. This time Link took off his jeans but left his boxers on and they made their legs go together in a way that was comfortable. Rhett put his face in Link’s hair and breathed in deep to smell the good smell of his mate. He was feeling a lot of different things and part of him just wanted to forget about them all and go to sleep.

Even when he closed his eyes, the thoughts did not stop. He was remembering many things. Playing with a big orange ball that bounced. Climbing things and chasing after other small animals like himself and shouting happily. Making marks on a white sheet with colourful sticks. Making pictures. One picture showed himself wearing clothes like Link, and in the picture was another small person and two big people all holding hands. Rhett drew simple hands that only had four fingers and the people were funny-looking but Rhett knew who they were supposed to be. Link had said a word earlier that made him remember.

 _Mom_ , he thought suddenly, desperately, and his eyes got wet.

In the dark, his hand found Link’s, and their fingers went together and held tight.


	5. Coming Home

Rhett crouched down low in the sand behind the tree and watched with a big worry as Link walked up to the ugly building and went inside. They had made many kisses before Link left, but Rhett still did not feel ready to have his beautiful mate go away. It made him feel very bad inside to think of Link not coming back. It felt as though this bad feeling - the fear of being by himself - had happened before, during a time when he was small and scared and so hungry that his stomach hurt with every step. These memories were so bad that Rhett’s head felt like it was running away from them like a scared rabbit being chased by a coyote. 

A long time later, Link came out the door again with another person and they both went inside one of the big loud things Rhett knew to be very dangerous and scary. When it started up with a growl that echoed across the desert, Rhett’s heart felt as if it might burst from nerves. It moved away along the long flat grey rock, carrying his mate away faster than he could run after him. Rhett smelled an acrid chemical stench that made his nose wrinkle, and then, suddenly, his mind made a picture of a small place filled with horrible noises and fire and that same sharp stink mixed with smoke. 

He made a noise like a hurt animal and turned to flee, seeking to put as much ground as he could between him and the bad place and the road and the cars. Panic made him unusually clumsy and he half-staggered down a sandy slope and very nearly put his whole leg in a cactus. He did not like this and so he got down on all fours and hunched for a long time down close to the sand until his body began to calm down and feel normal. He was shaking and his legs felt all wobbly when he stood up again.

The walk back was very hard. Sometimes he thought of Link walking beside him, and water blurred his eyes and made it hard to see and his chest hurt. He wanted to run after his mate and bring him to his cave again and cook fish and have swims together and see his body without the covers. He wanted to touch Link in the places that would feel most good and make him do those soft happy noises. Most of all, he just wanted to be with his mate and know where he was and go to sleep knowing he’d wake up and see those pretty sky-coloured eyes. Rhett thought about those eyes and that face as he made his legs keep walking. He had to keep moving even though he did not want to. He wanted to be home, safe.

When he reached his cave he crawled in and sat on the floor very hard. He did not get up again for a long time, even after the world got dark. Even when the sky began to turn grey to show that the sun was coming back. He wanted to get some more fish or nuts to eat, or maybe even one of the small furry animals that he could get with his fish spear, but all he could do was stay still and hurt. 

He tried to lay down with his soft body cover. It smelled like the fur of his mate’s head. 

“Link,” he said out loud into the darkness. 

It was hard to make sleep happen. His head was so confused. Life had always been simple and good, and when he had those strange night pictures, it was easy to brush them off. But he could not stop thinking about his mate, gone in one of those big scary machines, maybe getting hurt and never coming back to see Rhett ever again. He could not stop thinking about the bad time when he was small. There had been so many hurts. All his skin red from the sun with big pockets of tight skin that filled with liquid. Eating berries that were bad, but being too stupid to know they were bad, and holding his stomach as hurts shot through his stomach and made him sick from both ends. Waiting to die. Wanting to go up to the sky and see Jesus and be with him. Rhett could not remember who had told him about Jesus.

He tried to make himself feel good again by thinking of Link taking off his silly _clothes_ to swim in the lake. He wondered if Link could do the kissing in other places, and he could do the same to Link. The feeling of his mouth on Link’s mouth was better than anything, better than cold water on a hot day, better than his favourite kind of fish, better than anything he ever knew. Why was his cave so big and empty? The memories would not go away and dug deeper and deeper into his heart. Combined with the hurt of Link going away, he could hardly stand it.

He was a lot bigger now, but he curled up as he had back then, squeezing his eyes closed hard.

**

True to his word, Link came back in three days.

He timed his drive to end up at the lake just past dusk - early enough to navigate the desert terrain safely, but dark enough for Rhett to be up and active. He parked his repaired car at the lone gas station and slung his trusty backpack over his shoulder. The gas station attendant gave Link an odd look as he consulted his compass and set out in the right direction – which appeared to be straight into the middle of nowhere. Link gave him a cheerful wave. This did not seem to assuage the man’s doubts about his sanity, but Link didn’t care. He had bigger things on his mind.

This time, he’d come prepared. Along with a much better supply of water and food, he had emergency flares, a fully charged cell phone, and a properly packed medical kit. From a tourist center, he’d gotten a pamphlet from Joshua Tree National Park advising hikers on the different poisonous species of animals and plants. He’d also brought a set of plain clothing from the specialty Big and Tall menswear store, second-hand hiking shoes three sizes bigger than his own, a pair of tough scissors, and an electric razor with extra batteries. What Rhett would think of the makeover was a mystery, but Link couldn’t bring the wild man into his quiet suburban neighbourhood without a few adjustments to his fierce look. 

And _wild man_ was right. Link also had printed out a news article, dated from 1985, confirming the deaths of three unfortunate people and the probable death of a fourth - the youngest child, who had been in the vehicle when the happy family set out from Thousand Oaks, California on a trip to Lake Havasu City. The car had burned to a smoking shell before the ambulance and fire truck and police cars had come, and any remains were hard to identify. No trace of Rhett had been found, and yet, as the sheriff had solemnly pointed out, a little kid could not be expected to survive in the Mojave Desert for more than a day or two. Search teams had been dispatched to no avail.

But somehow, incredibly, Rhett had survived. Rhett, the gawky strawberry blond friend of Link’s who had been at his birthday party and was known to get Link into trouble at school. That same person had found Link unconscious in the desert three decades later. Link didn’t know how, but it explained their instant connection – not to mention Rhett’s too-quick grasp of the English language. It was strange enough to encounter an actual feral person, and stranger still to develop a strong attraction to him like nothing he’d ever felt before, but to know they’d met before – three thousand miles and three decades away – was strange to the point of being downright miraculous. It had to be a sign. It had to be fate.

Attached to the article was a single creased, faded photograph of two boys in Link’s backyard, standing in the golden summer grass wearing goofy grins and no shirts. Link’s smile was shy and earnest and he was looking right at the camera. Rhett, on the right, was looking down at Link with obvious glee. Link had held the photograph in his hands for nearly an hour, thinking deeply about destiny and the way his pastor had always told him that God worked his miracles in mysterious ways. He did not doubt that God was with him the day his car had mysteriously broken down. And God had not abandoned Rhett. How else did the little gangly boy from the photograph survive against all odds?

The trek was longer and harder than Link remembered, although with his proper hiking boots and thick layer of sunscreen, he was undaunted. He was nervous, too – he had no real plan as to what to _do_ with Rhett once he had gotten the man safely back among his own kind, or how to tell him that his mom and dad and brother had been dead for thirty years. Would Rhett even remember them? Link did, but vaguely. His mother would have better memories to share, although Link didn’t plan on telling her that he was attempting to re-civilize their dead neighbours’ long-lost kid. He didn’t plan on telling anybody, unless he absolutely had to. Surely there would be media interest, scientific interest, people who might recommend Rhett be put in some facility to evaluate his mental state- and Link felt strongly that this would not be what Rhett would want. It was obvious to him that there was nothing _wrong_ with Rhett. He was strong, healthy, caring, even funny. And of course, deeply intelligent.

The story would have to come out sooner or later. Rhett would need ID. A birth certificate, a social security number, a driver’s license…but all that could wait. Link stubbornly pushed the bothersome details out of his mind. First, he would bring Rhett home. Secondly, they would enjoy each other’s company and experience human life together. Beyond that, who knew? They had to have faith.

Rhett was nowhere to be found when Link reached the deep turquoise lake. He had approached it from the eastern side, where the beach was treacherously rocky and steep. To his left the cliffs sloped sharply upward and out over the water like jagged teeth bared to the sky. With the whole lake spread out below Link could see just how deep and clear its waters were. Between the brilliant orange sunset and the emerald lake, Link almost felt as if he were on some alien planet. In the fading light he caught a glimpse of the spiky rounded cacti that produced the sweet, juicy fruit that Rhett had fed him so tenderly. The memory made him smile. Feral he might be, but his Rhett had a big heart. 

Link carefully picked his way around to the beach, placing each foot firmly upon a boulder and eyeing where his next step would take him before continuing. The tough boots covered his ankles to protect him from any snake or scorpion that might be lurking about. Remembering the horrible hot pain of the scorpion sting had made Link very respectful of the desert and its inhabitants. He couldn’t help but wonder what Rhett had gone through as a kid, out here on his own. Surely he’d been through hell. Dehydration, starvation, painful cuts and bruises and maybe bites. And yet he had survived, where Link, a fully-grown man, had nearly died within a few hours on his own. If Rhett hadn’t come along…

 _He saved my life._ Link owed him everything. His desire to re-unite Rhett with humankind went deeper than his attraction to the wild man. He owed it to Rhett to make every effort possible to teach him everything he’d need to know about the world. That was why he had called to ask for a last minute week’s break from work, startling his superiors and coworkers. Rhett was worth more than the job Link had toiled for years to succeed at. 

Once he had gotten down to the sandy beach where Rhett had coaxed him into the water, he sat heavily on a boulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was cooler already than it had been on the night of their swim but the trek had exhausted him. Link was grateful for the chilly dusk air. He unlaced his boots and toed off his socks and stood up to dip his feet into the cool water with a loud, “Aaah.” 

He wiggled his toes in the sand and bent to dip his hands in the water, too. He smoothed his wet hands through his hair to slick it back in place. _I might have some time to kill,_ he thought as he watched a school of small silvery fish dart through the water. Rhett was nocturnal, and Link didn’t know when the man usually woke up. He had been awake during the day when he’d rescued Link, but then again, Link had a foggy memory of yelling loudly enough to wake the dead. This unpleasant memory was interrupted by Link’s delight as some of the tiny fish were brave enough to swim over and touch the tops of his feet. If they were trying to nip at his toes, they felt more like kisses. When he shifted his knees, they all scattered.

 _I hope nothing else in here likes to bite._ At that thought he’d had enough of the water. He waded out, his eyes roving over the beach where he and Rhett had enjoyed each other sexually for the first time, making sure nothing dangerous was nearby. The rippled sands flowed in a consistent pattern all the way down into the water, marred only by a great number of very large footprints and an odd patch in the sand that looked as if it had been scribbled upon. When Link studied the unusual spot more closely, he gasped.

The crude method of using fingers to draw in the sand did not allow for great detail, but it was obviously a picture of him and Rhett. Rhett was taller, and he drew his hair in generous wild waves. Link was wearing glasses and clothes that looked a lot like Rhett’s robe. They were holding hands as they’d done on their walk to the gas station. It was no simple sketch like the ones Rhett had quickly made of the scorpion, fish and cactus. The man had clearly taken some time to work on it. Link crouched down and put his hand over one of the huge footprints as he gazed at Rhett’s earnest creation.

A voice came from behind him, so quiet it was almost lost amongst the rustling sands.

“Link…?”

Link turned sharply and saw Rhett making his way slowly to the lake’s edge, creeping silently on all fours, wearing his robe and a cautiously hopeful smile. When their eyes met, he rose to his feet and began to run. “Link!"

“Oh, Rhett – ” Suddenly he found himself standing, running, bare feet skidding in the sand and his face splitting in a grin as he got close enough to see the look of absolute relief and sheer joy on Rhett’s bearded face. Their bodies collided hard enough to hurt and yet neither man cared. Rhett put his nose in Link’s hair, smelling him, kissing his forehead and cheeks, touching the new clothing and seeming particularly interested in smelling the places where Link had liberally applied coconut sunscreen.

“I missed you, too,” Link told him, sliding his hands beneath Rhett’s robe to caress the broad toned back. “I told you I’d come back.”

“Link come back.” Rhett’s arms squeezed him so tightly that Link could barely get enough air to laugh. “ _Link_ ,” Rhett rumbled. “My Link. Come, make fire, eat fish?”

“No, Rhett,” Link held the giant’s hand. “I want you to come with me. First, we‘ll head back to your cave, and you can – well, not pack, exactly, but you can bring whatever you can carry.”

Rhett showed him the spear. “I…find…good food, fish, other eats.” 

“I’m going to feed us when we get home, baby.” The pet name slipped from Link’s lips before he could help himself. “I’m not a fantastic cook, but I can make you a sandwich. I can buy fish. And I have potatoes, collard greens, a banana…”

“Good food?”

“Yes, Rhett. I will make good food.”

The look on Rhett’s face showed Link his struggle to hide his doubt. It made Link smile. Rhett looked at his empty hands, and then more closely at his backpack as if he might be hiding the food in there. 

“Come on, Rhett, let’s hit your cave. We gotta get you ready for your big trip.”

“No swim?”

“No swimming. Not today. I can bring you to a beach later on.”

Rhett smoothed a hand over Link’s chest and his look turned coy. “No clothes swim.”

“Mmm, that does sound tempting, big guy. But we should start walking pretty soon. We have to go all the way back to my car again.”

Rhett pulled back. “Car…”

“Yep, that’s right.” Link tried to sound cheery. Of course Rhett would have some anxieties about driving in a car after what happened to his family. He held Rhett’s hand again and gave it a squeeze. “Trust me. I love you, Rhett.”

Whether he remembered the words or interpreted the tone, Rhett allowed Link to lead him away from the lake, his beard almost obscuring the little smile on his small mouth.

The sun was well and truly set by the time they were on their way. Link was no longer worried about navigation. Rhett knew exactly where they were going. He trusted the wild man more than his own compass and map. As they walked, Rhett filled his ear with words, some that Link had certainly never taught him. 

“Scared,” Rhett told him firmly. “Scared Link not come back. No food all night, bad…” He gestured to his stomach. “Bad feeling.”

“You were too upset to eat?” asked Link, startled. “Oh, Rhett, I’m sorry…See, I had to get a ride back to town and call someone to help find and fix my car.”

“Caught good food, with fur.” Rhett stooped down and quickly drew a picture for Link. It was clearly a rabbit. “Eat,” Rhett said. “I eat.”

“A rabbit. You ate a bunny rabbit!” Link shouldn’t have been surprised. “How did you catch one?”

Rhett jabbed the drawing with his spear, casually, as if to say, _What are you talking about? It’s easy._

“But aren’t they _fast_? They run like - ” Link shot his arm out in an arc to show speed.

Now Rhett frowned and drew two more rabbits beside a much larger one, and then pointed at the smaller set. “Not…fast.”

“You stabbed baby bunnies?” Link fought the dismay. He ate cows and chickens, and had hunted in his youth and watched his father shoot pheasants and squirrels. It would be hypocritical to judge Rhett for eating rabbit, especially since the man had no choice. “Did you save the fur for your bed?” He took Rhett’s robe between two fingers. “Is this all rabbit or do you kill bigger animals?”

Rhett nodded. “Small rabbit, small fur.” He indicated the robe. “Many rabbit. Other…other animals.”

“It must have taken you a long time. I wonder how you learned to sew?” The stitches were not fantastic, but the robe was well-crafted. “Maybe you made needles out of bone splinters.”

The distant howling of coyotes started up again as it had the first time they’d came to the lake. They sounded much further off, and Link was glad. Coyotes were small and not a huge threat to two large humans, but all the same, this pack sounded enormous. The cacophony of yips and barks lit up the still desert and seemed to make the very shadows come alive. Link had always thought the desert was a wasteland compared to the golden and green hills of his youth in North Carolina, but the way Rhett existed here in the middle of nowhere made him realize just how much life the desert held. They were surrounded by creatures big and small, surviving together. Above their heads the stars twinkled with a fiery brilliance around a gleaming crescent moon, serene and eternal.

The cave’s mouth was almost invisible but Link recognized where he was almost immediately. Rhett backed away politely to let Link enter first, but Link put a hand on his forearm.

“It’s too dark in there,” he said. “I need to be able to see.”

Rhett gestured again. “Come, Link. Kiss. Sleep?” He dropped his robe and raised an eyebrow as if in challenge.

“Not yet, big guy. Tempting, though. There’s a few things we need to do first,” Link announced, putting his backpack on the ground between them. Rhett eyed it warily. “First, I bet you’d love a haircut.” Link stroked one thick piece of matted hair and mimed chopping it off at the roots, then pointed to his own relatively short locks. Rhett’s eyes got a little smaller as he contemplated this.

“Relax,” Link told him. “You’ll look hot.”

“Hot?” Rhett echoed, looking even more lost, and Link decided to show Rhett what he meant by leaning in, parting the matted chunks of hair, and kissing the shell of Rhett’s ear.

“Hmmm,” Rhett said, still unsure, but the hum turned into a purr when Link caressed the soft earlobe with his tongue.

“Good, Rhett.” Link sat him on a boulder and got the scissors out of his bag. He’d brought a flashlight, too, in case the moonlight was not enough. He set the flashlight at his feet and stood over Rhett. Even with the wild man seated on the boulder, Link was only a little taller. Rhett stared at the moonlight gleaming off the steel blades and flinched when Link held them up.

“You’ll stab a baby bunny but you’re scared of scissors?” Link asked, incredulous. “Come here, Rhett! Look, it’s fine. You can hold them. No, not like that – by the handle.” He showed Rhett how it was done and encouraged him to slice a blade of grass to show him how they worked. When he relaxed, Link started his work.

It was slow work. Rhett’s hair was thick, and Link didn’t want to yank on it too much and hurt him. Patiently, he hacked away at the tangled locks, sawing through mats and tangles until there was a small mountain of coiled hair at Rhett’s feet and the man was sporting an awkward bob. Link turned on his flashlight to get a better look. Shorn of his dreadlocks, Rhett looked very handsome indeed. The hair closer to his head was lighter than the ends of his old dreads had been. He was still a dark strawberry blonde as he had been as a child. Link nodded with satisfaction and said, “I’ll try to style it now. I’m not sure how good it’ll look, but we can fix it later. As long as you look pretty normal…”

Rhett ran his fingers through his short hair with wonder and gave his head a shake to feel how much lighter it was.

“Do you like it?”

Rhett nodded, but winced a little when Link got the scissors up near his ear.

“Trust me,” Link coaxed, and began the finer work of shaping Rhett’s hair into an acceptable style. “I’ve always wanted to be a hair stylist,” he admitted as he clipped the sides closer to the scalp, promising himself that he would go over it later with the clippers when the lighting was better. “I don’t usually tell people that. They made fun of me back home when that little bit of gossip got out.” He left the top a little longer. Without the heavy weight of the dreadlocks pulling down, the hair almost wavy, rather than straight as Link had assumed. “I became an engineer instead, although it was really only because I was told it would be stupid to go to school for anything but a skilled trade or engineering. I guess they were probably right.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m happy enough, I guess.”

Link pushed the past out of his mind and sat back to admire his handiwork again. Rhett straightened his back and puffed out his chest, absorbing the attention with clear amusement. “I told you that it would look good,” Link said happily, touching the wiry hair at Rhett’s chin. “Now it’s time to clean up this beard.”

This time Rhett pushed his hand away, frowning.

“What? You don’t want me to cut it?”

“No,” Rhett said firmly.

“Not the whole thing! Just…We can just make it a little shorter!” The beard was not as matted as the man’s hair had been, and it wasn’t _that_ long. It was almost passable, especially with how big beards seemed to be very trendy in LA. Even so, Link wanted to see more of Rhett’s face. It was becoming clear now just how handsome Rhett was. Without the mass of hair, his expressive eyebrows and intense eyes were all the more intriguing. “Please?” he added in his most winning voice.

Rhett pointed at Link’s smooth cheeks and shook his head firmly.

“I don’t look too bad, do I?” Link laughed at him. “No, I get it. You like the beard. We’ll keep it. You’re not gonna look like me, I promise. We’ll just clean it up a bit, okay?”

“Hmmmm.” Rhett produced an unhappy whine and grasped a handful of his beard. Then he held his fingers a few inches apart, 

“I can take that much off?”

“Hmm.”

“You won’t be mad?”

Rhett gave him a long-suffering look, but Link could tell that it was an act. 

“Oh, Rhett.” Link gave his shoulder a smack. “Don’t make me feel bad.” 

Rhett shot him a grin and then tilted his chin back to present his beard. Link took up the scissors again and gave the coarse hair a good trim until Rhett looked more or less like an average scruffy outdoorsy guy – the sort of man who liked camping and fishing and wearing a lot of plaid. If anything, the look was flattering on Rhett. When he put the scissors down and leaned closer to get a better look, Rhett dove in and snuck a kiss on his cheek and laughed silently at Link’s startled face.

“So that’s done, then.” Link rubbed his blushing cheeks and tried to stay focused. “Now for the next step. Clothes.”

“No clothes.” Rhett’s small tongue peeked out of his mouth.

“Maybe later, big guy, but if you want to come home with me you’re gonna have to put these on.” Link unfolded the shirt and jeans he’d selected and put them into Rhett’s lap along with one of his own larger pairs of boxer shorts. 

Rhett stared at the pile in his lap with scepticism. “Mine?”

“Yours, Rhett. I bought them for you. Can you put them on?”

Rhett apparently remembered how to do this. Grudgingly, he stood up and got the boxers and jeans on, and immediately tested their limits by lifting his knees one at a time and frowning when the fabric grew tight. “Why?” he demanded, looking wounded. “Clothes no good. I have…” He pointed at his robe. 

“That thing is no good for where I’m taking you. Once we’re home you can take them off again and have no clothes, okay?” Link pulled out the shoes and let Rhett slip his feet in. He fully expected to have to tie them up for the feral man, but Rhett bent down and did it himself without a pause. “You’re getting a lot of your memories back, aren’t you?” Link asked, delighted.

“Shoes,” Rhett said mildly, rocking back on his heels in the sand and taking a few uneasy steps in place. His behaviour made Link think of the funny videos he’d seen of cats and dogs wearing slippers for the first time and being suddenly unable to walk. However, Rhett adjusted within minutes.

“Now we’re set to go.” Link packed up his various belongings. “I still have some room in my pack. Is there anything you need to bring from your cave?”

Rhett picked up the fur robe. 

“I don’t know if that will fit.” Link folded it neatly and tried to get it in. It fit, but barely. “You’ll have to carry anything else.”

“We…Leave?” When Link nodded, Rhett continued. “We come back?”

Link hesitated. “No, Rhett. Unless it’s to camp or something, but…I’m rescuing you. Like you did to me. No coming back.”

Rhett crouched down by the mouth of his cave and put a hand on the rocky lip of the opening, his head bowed. Link moved to tug him away but stopped and averted his eyes, granting Rhett his own farewell to the life he’d known.

After a few minutes he rose again, looking determined. He glanced at Link. “Leave now?”

“Yes, that’s right. Come on, Rhett. Let’s get moving.”

For the second time, they started the long walk to the gas station together. Rhett kept turning to look back at his cave with a faraway look on his face. When they could no longer see it, his hand tightened around Link’s. Link squeezed back, understanding his pain.

“I know you’re doing this for me, and I appreciate it,” he said softly. “You’re so brave.”

“Where…” Rhett’s dark brows furrowed. “Where are…”

“Where are we going?” Link finished. Rhett nodded. “I left my car at the gas station that you took me to last time. The car will bring us home. To Los Angeles. Do you remember Los Angeles? Or Thousand Oaks?”

Rhett brightened and nodded. 

“Good! What about…” Link hesitated. “How about Buies Creek, North Carolina?”

Recognition shone in the man’s green eyes. “I…I lived…” Rhett spoke very slowly. “I lived there…?”

“You did. For about a year. With me.”

“Me, and you?”

“Yes,” was all Link knew to say, and fell silent again as he watched Rhett’s face turn stormy as if frustrated at his own lack of understanding. “Can I show you something?”

Without waiting for a reply Link shrugged off his backpack mid-stride and felt around for the first-aid kit where he’d put the photograph for safekeeping. He held it out for Rhett and the big man took it gently between two fingers. Link studied his face as he gazed upon the photo taken three decades earlier.

“Me,” Rhett said after a few minutes, eagerly at first, and then his voice became more confused. “How…?”

“It’s me and you, Rhett.” 

“Small Link,” Rhett confirmed. “Same Link?”

“Yes, we’re the same person.”

Rhett did not reply. He stared at the photo for a while longer and then slowly pressed it tight against his chest. He did not speak for some time.

Link wanted to fill the silence with words of comfort and reassurance, but Rhett looked so far away that he decided not to break the man’s concentration. Briefly, he wondered if it was right of him to try and make Rhett remember everything so soon. _It has to happen eventually,_ he told himself. _He’ll just have to be tough and get through it. I’ll be right here to help him, too._

“Buies Creek,” Rhett mumbled to himself. “Link, small Link. School.” And then, later, he uttered the name, “Cole…”

After that, he spoke no more, and the only sound was of their rhythmic footsteps crunching softly against sand and rock. The coyotes had gone quiet too, or else they had moved on to better hunting grounds. At one point, something screamed into the darkness from very far away. Link jumped but Rhett did not. _Rabbit,_ Link thought to himself. _Maybe the coyotes aren’t gone after all._

A shiver went through him. He was glad to see the land tilting upward, a familiar bony tree looming at the top of its slope. The same tree that Rhett had hidden behind on the day he‘d watched Link seek help from the gas station attendant. “We’re almost there,” Link announced as they crested the hill. Rhett’s head jerked up as if he had just taken notice of their surroundings.

“Bad place,” Rhett said suddenly when he caught sight of the small building, his pace slowing. Link tugged him onward, forcing him to approach the small parking lot where Link’s lonely car was waiting. Rhett’s face was a mixture of curiosity and terror as they approached the vehicle. “Scared. Don’t make me. No.” He let go of Link’s hand and planted his feet firmly in place, refusing to be pulled any further.

“Don’t be scared. This is my car, Rhett.” Link patted the hood, praying to God that Rhett wasn’t remembering the fiery crash he’d escaped from. He hated to see the man looking so upset. “It’ll take us home.”

“Home,” Rhett said in a very soft voice, but his eyes were looking back to where they’d come from.

“A better home,” Link insisted. He grabbed for Rhett’s hand to distract him. “I know its gonna be hard, but you’ll be much happier. You’ll see. And you’ll be with me. I’ll take care of you, Rhett. I owe you my life.”

Link went up on his tiptoes for a kiss, and Rhett’s rigid muscles relaxed at the touch.

“Let’s go home,” Link murmured, brushing the tips of their noses together until Rhett’s cloudy face broke out in a smile once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so incredibly grateful for all the feedback you guys have been giving me here and on Tumblr. <3 Thank you all!


	6. Beginning

The drive home went better than expected. Rhett had held Link’s bicep in a death grip when he turned on the ignition, but loosened it slightly after they’d pulled out of the gas station and turned onto the highway. While he did not like the seatbelt or the noise of the radio and fidgeted constantly with the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his jeans, he did not voice any complaints. For his benefit Link rolled down the window and after a while Rhett was distracted enough by the sight of the desert landscape speeding by to forget about the clothes and the restraint of the belt. It was obvious that the curiosity in him was stronger than the fear. He stuck a hand out the window after glancing at Link as if to confirm this was okay. Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Rhett splaying his fingers out to feel the way the air rushed against him.

“It’s sort of fun, isn’t it?” Link asked brightly. “We only have a few hours to go. Maybe we’ll stop and grab some food. It won’t be anything great at this hour, of course. Our choices will probably be gas station fare, or a McDonalds. In the future I’ll have to bring you on a real date at a good restaurant. It’ll be kind of nice to be able to treat somebody else for once.” In his limited experience with men, Link had too often found guys who offered to pay for dinner and drinks only to assume that this meant they’d be getting a little treat later as payment. Their presumption always galled him. 

“Is fun,” Rhett agreed, sounding like his usual self again. He peered over and rested his cheek on Link’s shoulder to watch his feet work the gas and brake pedals. 

Link liked the earthy smell of the man’s hair. “We can use the bathroom there too. I kind of hope you remember how toilets work. I don‘t wanna have to demonstrate.”

“Pee,” Rhett told him confidently. 

Link laughed. “That’s the general idea. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

The first leg of the drive passed without incident. Thankfully, Rhett didn’t have any questions when Link pointed him into the bathroom at the first McDonalds they came across as they passed through Twentynine Palms. He looked rather weird, gawping at the lit-up golden arches and all the cars in the parking lot and flinching at the sound of the cash registers opening. But Rhett’s mildly eccentric appearance and mannerisms went unnoticed; he was hardly the weirdest-looking person there. This was a rest stop, in the middle of the night, on a weekday to boot, and some of the other customers seemed much more feral-looking than Rhett. If anything, the few stares the big man was getting were more interested than judgmental. Clad in the tight grey henley shirt and flattering jeans, Rhett cut an impressive and handsome figure. He towered over all of the patrons they passed.

Link made sure Rhett was okay to go into the bathroom by himself and then ordered food for both of them – omitting cheese on Rhett’s burger in case the lactose made him sick after not drinking milk for thirty years. He chose coffee with cream and sugar for himself and a bottle of water for Rhett. Anything else, even juice, would likely be too sweet. Link smiled to himself to remember the man’s extreme reaction to the sweet chocolate-chip and almond granola bar. The food came before Rhett returned. _He’s probably checking himself out in the mirror. He hasn’t seen a mirror in thirty years._ Did he know what he looked like? Maybe he’d seen his reflection in the waters of the lake a time or two – certainly nothing like the clarity of a mirror.

The smell of his french fries was making his stomach growl. “Come on, Rhett,” Link said when the man appeared, looking distrustfully at the people behind the counter. “We can eat in the car.”

Rhett grabbed his arm tightly. “So…bright. Many bad smells.” He nodded at one of the speakers in the ceiling. “No good radio.’

“That’s par for the course in a McDonalds bathroom,” Link giggled, keeping his voice low. “And I don’t like this song either.” He reached the doors first and held them open for Rhett who followed closely at his heels. “You did really well. I thought it would be harder to convince you to come inside.” 

“What food?” Rhett noticed the paper bags Link carried. His nostrils flared.

“Burgers and fries, and a apple pie for me. I love pie. You can try it but I doubt you’ll like all the sugar. I’m not sure if greasy food is the best thing to get you acclimated to a more normal diet, but I don‘t want you to starve, either.”

Rhett opened the passenger door and buckled his seatbelt, all by himself. Link put the bags in his lap and climbed in on the other side. 

“Try your burger,” he told the other man, unwrapping his own. Rhett watched Link and imitated the action. When Link took a bite, he did, too. Link laughed to see his confusion and surprise. As he chewed, Rhett carefully lifted the bun and stared blankly at the small meat patty beneath. He looked as though he was trying very hard to find the right word for what his taste buds were experiencing.

“Weird,” Rhett finally opined, which made Link laugh harder.

“Pretty different from roasted trout, raw eggs, and baby rabbits, isn‘t it? We‘ll get better food later. I can get rabbit from a butcher. I bet you‘ll like rare steak, too. I‘ll take you to Whole Foods and we can find some exotic fruit.”

Rhett finished most of the burger, albeit slowly, and tried some fries. Then he handed them off to Link with a grimace. “No good.”

“Yes good.” Link tipped him a wink and started to drive. He stuffed a handful of the salty fries in his mouth and looked at Rhett with his cheeks bulging. Rhett made a twisted face back and laughed at the sight.

“No,” Rhett insisted, laughing. “Link wrong. You…you’re wrong.”

“Nope, I’m right. They’re delicious. Wanna try my coffee?” Link tapped the lid of the cup between them. Rhett smelled it and gave him a mildly incredulous look.

“Good water.” Rhett drew deeply from his Dasani bottle instead. “I have.”

To pass the time Link pointed out various landmarks and common objects and had Rhett repeat the words back to him. The more he spoke, the more he seemed able to structure sentences without being taught. Link was filled with admiration for the man’s ability to learn. From what he remembered, Rhett had been a fairly good student in the first grade, too - when he wasn’t busy getting into mischief, that is. One hour passed, then two, and yet with Rhett’s company Link found that it felt more like twenty minutes. 

Once they were heading up through San Bernadino, Rhett was absolutely fascinated by all the lights. The first tall building they passed had him straining against the seatbelt to push his face against the glass. Compared to the blackness of the desert cave, it must have seemed as bright as day to Rhett. The only thing that seemed to scare him was the wail of a police siren screaming past them. Link’s arm bore five crescent-shaped marks from where Rhett had grabbed onto him hard in his fright. After, Rhett insisted on holding the arm gently and kissing the marks for the next five minutes as Link giggled.

They continued to head due west towards Burbank. Rhett’s eyes followed the lines of an enormous church spire. “Link,” he exclaimed. “Wrong sky.”

“It’s different, isn’t it?” Link agreed after glancing up to see what Rhett meant. “Barely any stars.”

“No stars,” Rhett repeated quietly. “No good water places.” He gazed despondently at a Subaru dealership lit up with bluish lights and lurid tinsel streamers. At Link’s concerned gaze he quickly shifted back into a smile that seemed a little forced.

“We can still take road trips and go star-gazing,” Link promised. “Don’t worry. You’ll love it here. I like it better than North Carolina.” Truthfully, he’d been content in Fuquay-Varina, but after it got out that he was not as interested in women as he’d pretended to be, things went south fast. California seemed a good destination. There were jobs in his field, a more gay-friendly culture, and it was full of millions of strangers that did not know him or rub their success and happy family life in his face. _I told myself I’d get away from them all, and I did. I ran away, and here I am, thriving._ Sure, maybe it wasn’t what he’d dreamed for himself, but he made decent money and had a pleasant house in a good neighbourhood. That was the important thing. That was what everyone wanted.

“You feel good?” Rhett asked with concern.

“I’m fine,” Link replied, listlessly. “A little tired, that’s all.”

“No sad.” Rhett’s hand reached down and cupped Link’s side. “I make Link happy.”

“You do.” Link leaned into his touch and enjoyed the last hour of their journey. The coffee helped keep him from feeling like a total zombie from the lack of sleep. Rhett seemed to like the slow residential roads better than the highways and gazed at every house with interest. When they reached Link’s house, Rhett gave him a questioning look. “We stop.”

“Yep, we stopped. This is my house, Rhett.” Link pulled into the driveway. “This is where I live.” 

Rhett unbuckled his seatbelt smoothly and slipped out the door, quiet as a cat. He appeared on Link’s side as if scared that something would jump out of the hedges and attack them. He hovered over Link protectively.

“Don’t be nervous.” Link swung his legs out, retrieved his backpack from the backseat, and locked the door behind him. “Nothing here can hurt us. I’ve never even seen a scorpion in the city.”

Rhett carefully followed Link up the stairs to the porch, his protuberant eyes looking everywhere at once. He touched the mailbox next to the door and felt the surface of the brick walls, and then laid a finger against the glass of the living room window. The noise of Link’s key scraping in the lock pulled him away and he crowded up close behind Link as the front door opened. 

“We’re home, Rhett. You and me, together. This is our home.” Link offered his hand and pulled Rhett inside. The man immediately listened intently as if trying to see if there was anyone else inside. “We’re all alone in here,” he added.

Rhett relaxed right away. “Warm. No clothes.” 

“Yes, clothes! The curtains are open.” Link grabbed Rhett’s arm as the man moved to pull his shirt off. “Jeeze, you really hate not being naked. Let me show you around first.” The sight of Rhett wandering naked around his house was not entirely unappealing. _Maybe I’ll get him some loose cotton pyjama pants to wear inside._

Link led Rhett on a tour of the small bungalow, showing him the living room and the kitchen first. Somehow, though Rhett must have outweighed him by forty pounds, his feet did not make the floor creak as Link’s did when they walked over the tiles. He had a way of walking like a cat, light and soundless. Link opened the fridge and Rhett immediately knelt to examine a head of lettuce and a wrapped pack of deli pastrami. 

“Good food?” he wanted to know.

“Very good. I can make us sandwiches tomorrow. Or are you still hungry?”

“Eat?”

“After I show you my room.” 

He let Rhett peek into the bathroom, and the giant man turned on the faucets easily. He grinned and stuck his hands into the flowing water and Link grabbed the pump bottle of soap and squirted some into his palms.

“You remember washing your hands like this?” he asked as Rhett lathered and rinsed.

Rhett held his hands out, palms up. “Hands?”

“Yes, Rhett.”

Rhett touched the side of the bathtub. “Wash here. Yes?”

“Yes, that’s my shower.”

“Good,” Rhett said, mostly to himself. 

“Now come in here. This is where we’ll sleep together.” Link’s tongue tripped a little over that phrase and he was sure Rhett noticed him blushing. “This is my bedroom.”

He showed Rhett inside, and the man’s face changed from curiosity to obvious pleasure. The first thing he examined was the window, cupping his hands over his eyes to peer through the glass to the world outside. He noticed the ornamental cactus on the windowsill and smiled at it. “Small cactus,” he noted. 

“It was a gift. From my old neighbours. I used to mow their lawn.”

“I like,” Rhett touched its clay pot. Then he turned and regarded Link’s bed.

“Looks comfy, huh?” Link sat down on it. “This mattress was so dang expensive. I’ve got some shoulder problems and I figured, hey, might as well treat myself to something nice. It’s not like I have anyone to spend money on.” He didn’t mean for it to come out slightly bitter, so he tried again. “Not that I’m tearing myself up for not having kids. I’ve got a good life. I’m fine on my own. Being alone is great.”

With a tilt of his head, Rhett squinted his eyes at Link. “Not alone.”

“No,” Link agreed. “Not anymore. Come try out this mattress, Rhett.”

Rhett liked the bed a lot. He crawled on top of the covers and put his face into the double layer of pillows, inhaling deeply. “Smell good like Link.” While his head was half a foot from the headboard, his feet were almost at the edge of the bed. Still, he rolled to the side and patted the mattress invitingly. “Link, here.”

Link could not resist. He scooted up to sit beside Rhett, who gave him a look that could only be described as lecherous as he pulled Link down by the shoulder to lay him flat on his back.

“Oh, okay, I see how it is.” Link let himself be pulled into an embrace, and then Rhett rolled right on top of him and pushed his face into Link’s neck. “What happened to being hungry? I thought you wanted to eat.”

“No,” Rhett said decisively. “Kiss.”

“Okay.” Link grinned. “Kiss me, then.”

Rhett captured his lips in a tender kiss. Link responded eagerly, opening his mouth to let Rhett lick his way inside. Their tongues met and danced together and within seconds Link had gone from zero to sixty. He’d been tired before but now his blood was pumping hard, filling him with energy and lust. Rhett broke off and panted against his mouth, letting out a whimper as he wriggled on top of Link’s smaller body. The small noise awoke the dominant side of Link’s personality and he roughly pushed Rhett over to reverse their positions. Now he was on top of Rhett, and the big man seemed to love it. Link’s knees splayed wide around Rhett’s hips to press their groins together firmly.

Rhett looked down to the bulging front of his jeans. “Link?” he asked, pleading. 

“Yeah, I see, baby. You’re hard for me, aren’t you?” Link got his hand between them and gripped the outline of Rhett’s manhood, gasping a little as the force of his arousal took over. Rhett thrust into his hand desperately and Link squeezed a little harder. _Gosh, he’s big. I‘ve never seen anyone so massive down there._ “What do you want me to do to you, Rhett?”

Rhett rocked his hips again, fucking into Link’s hand. His mouth opened but no words came out.

“You want to come, don’t you?” Link kissed the man’s cheek. “You want me to make you come.”

“Please,” was all Rhett knew to say. “Link hands…”

“Okay. Okay. I could do that, or…Oh, gosh. I’m gonna do something different, I think,” Link told him, almost not believing himself. “If you don’t like it, you can say no.” With his trembling hands he began to work on undoing the button of Rhett’s pants. Rhett made a small happy noise and wiggled his hips eagerly to help Link slide the garment down. He would have left them around Rhett’s thighs but the taller man impatiently gestured for Link to take them off entirely.

“No clothes,” Rhett told him, and nodded approvingly when Link got his boxer shorts down too. Rhett used his dexterous toes to pluck them from his ankles and fling them into a far corner of the room. He took off his shirt himself and pinched it between two fingers as if handling some dirty, contaminated object.

“Hey man, those weren’t cheap,” Link tried to joke, but his throat was dry and all the blood flow to his brain was being diverted to his dick. Rhett had turned him on before, but to see him like this – shorn of his matted hair and most of his beard, lying on Link’s white sheets with his legs slightly open and his manhood standing on display – was something else entirely. It had been a long time since Link had shared his bed with anybody else and his own dick was stirring at the thought of this handsome man being in it tonight and every night.

Rhett looked into Link’s eyes and wrapped a big hand around his manhood, looking happy to see Link watching him so closely. “Like last time,” he said, his voice ringing clearly. “Link, please?” He stroked himself slowly, reminding Link of what they had done to each other in the desert. One part of Link wished he could just sit and watch the man bring himself to orgasm. The thought of him pleasuring himself in Link’s bed, shooting his load over his own stomach with those deep rumbly groans, sent a shudder of pleasure through Link’s body.

“No. Not that. I want more. I’m gonna…” Link swallowed and bent down over Rhett’s lap, pressing light kisses to the flat stomach beneath his belly button. “Gonna do something better.” He could smell Rhett’s arousal, all earthy manly musk, and his mouth began to water. 

Rhett groaned and shifted his body, arching up to rub his cock against Link’s chest and making a questioning noise when Link’s kisses trailed down and down. Rhett’s cock twitched again, rubbing up against Link’s chin this time. Link heard the man give a surprised groan and turned to rub his cheek against the smooth firm shaft, loving the way it made Rhett moan more loudly. 

When his lips reached the top of Rhett’s pubes he stopped and pulled away. Rhett’s dick bobbed enticingly right before his eyes. He wrapped a hand around its base and squeezed gently to see the pre-come leak from the tip. It looked so good. He wanted to suck it, wanted to know what Rhett’s come tasted like, wanted to show the man how much Link wanted him.

“Link?” Rhett’s voice was pleading. “I…I want…”

“Yeah,” Link told him, his voice a husky whisper, “yeah, Rhett, I got you, I’m gonna make you feel good. I love your big dick. I don’t have a lot of practice with this, but…”

When he touched his mouth to the head of Rhett’s cock, Rhett gave a shout and gripped Link’s shoulder with one hand. The velvety head was smooth but firm against Link’s lips and he felt more of the clear fluid leak out at the touch. Link closed his eyes and opened his mouth and slipped it over the head, breathing deep through his nose.

“Oh,” Rhett gasped. “ _Oh._ Mmmh. Link…” His hands clutched at Link’s shoulders. “So good. Link mouth good.”

Link drew off slowly, partially because he was thinking, partially because it made Rhett's eyes roll in the back of his head. He’d only done this a few times before, and while the idea had always seemed to be appealing, the reality never lived up to his expectations. More often than not, it had felt like an obligation rather than something he really wanted to do for his partner. Link had always been reluctant to ‘go all the way’, preferring to save the more intimate and potentially painful act for someone special. It had frustrated the few past partners he had and they had expected Link to give them pleasure in other ways. They asked for it, practically demanded it, and then pushed his head down as soon as he began.

But Rhett did not pressure him or push his head down. Rhett didn’t thrust up into his mouth. His chest heaved and his thighs shook but his hips stayed still, letting Link direct the pace and take things at his own speed. For once, Link did not gag, even when he bent low to take in most of Rhett’s length save for what his hand covered. When he backed off again and looked up, he saw the man’s features frozen into a comical look of mingled shock and delight.

“Ahh, ah, mmmh,” Rhett moaned, blinking dazedly. “Want more. Please, please.”

“Anything for you,” Link breathed and went back down. Rhett’s manhood was heavy and thick and hard as a rock, and though it was a bit of a stretch just to get it to the back of his throat, Link didn’t want to stop. It tasted so good. For the first time, he was truly enjoying being the giver of this act. Rhett’s reactions were beautiful, his unabashed pleasure ringing loudly off the walls as he moaned with every swipe of Link’s tongue. His thighs opened wider and Link couldn’t help but pull off and stare between, taking in the handsome heavy sack and the cleft of Rhett’s ass. Rhett nearly yelled when Link decided to use his lips to explore both. It was awkward, but by pushing his face right up into Rhett’s groin he was able to prod at the tight hole with his tongue, a teasing touch to let Rhett know how good the area could feel when stimulated. 

Whatever restraint Rhett had broke. His body bucked and his hands went into Link’s hair, pulling hard, demanding his mouth back on the swollen and aching cock. Link moved with him, enjoying the man’s newfound roughness. For all his ferocity Rhett did not attempt to actually shove his manhood between Link’s lips, but whined for Link to do it himself.

“You want my mouth again?” he asked softly, his voice rough. “If you could speak well I’d make you beg for it. I’d tease you all night. But, since you can’t…” He licked from the base to the tip slowly, wiggling his tongue to show off his flexibility. This time, when he took Rhett in, it didn’t feel so much like his lips had to stretch. His mouth welcomed the intrusion. Taking his time, he played around with different techniques, changing the pressure of his tongue and pushing Rhett’s cock into his velvety inner cheek while looking up into Rhett’s green eyes. His hand worked the base determinedly and stroked what could not fit in his mouth.

Rhett groaned loudly and urgently tapped him on the shoulder. Link pulled off and looked at Rhett’s flushed face. He was confused until he realized the source of Rhett’s distress.

“You’re close?” he asked aloud, and then, with a rush of arousal, added, “ _Good_. Good. Come on, Rhett, come for me, okay? Come in my mouth. I want you to.”

He looked Rhett right in the eyes as he wrapped his lips around the firm shaft and sucked hard, cheeks hollowing. Rhett’s low groan slowly turned into a high pitched cry as Link bobbed his head up and down, determined now to bring Rhett to climax. Finally, he heard Rhett shout his name, and that was the only warning Link got before his mouth filled with thick, warm come. The taste was bearable and Link swallowed easily in time for more to come, another spurt that coated his tongue and slipped down his throat. He only gagged once, more of a reaction to the sheer amount of liquid in his mouth. When he pulled away another small trickle spilled over the head and Link cleaned it neatly with his tongue and used Rhett’s thighs as leverage to push himself back up on his knees. 

Rhett was staring at him with absolute worship in his eyes. Sweat glistened on his forehead. “That was pretty hot,” Link confessed, feeling a little thrill at the notion that he could get so worked up just by sucking the wild man’s big cock. His lips felt slightly numb with use and the smell of Rhett was everywhere. “I’m gonna have to jerk off, okay? You don’t have to help if you don’t want. I just – I have to – oh, goodness, I’m so hard…”

“Kiss,” Rhett said instead, and they did, Rhett‘s tongue seeking out the flavour of himself. His hand slowly came up to fondle Link’s clothed package but Link shifted away with a frown.

“You don’t have to do that, Rhett. I’d love it, but I don’t want to feel like everything I do has to be strictly reciprocal. I know you haven‘t done this before. I‘m not gonna pressure you.”

Rhett touched his own mouth. “Please. Please Link. Let me. Make you feel good too.”

“Oh, goodness.” Link swallowed hard. “You really want to?”

“Yes,” Rhett said immediately. “Want to.”

Of course Rhett learned quickly. He always did. Once he’d caught his breath and finished kissing Link deeply once again, Link found himself being rolled over onto his back as Rhett’s big hands undid the button of his jeans expertly. “Off,” Rhett demanded, and Link raised his butt to let the wild man pull them down. He made to pull himself out from the slit in his boxers but Rhett was having none of that. He practically tore them off in his haste to get Link naked. The sheer enthusiasm was enough to make Link weak with lust and he surrendered to the other man completely. Rhett’s hands squeezed his thighs and cupped his balls and rubbed through his trimmed pubic hair with reckless abandon. Finally, he used both hands to grip Link’s cock gently. The hands were so big that Link was completely enveloped. When he rocked his hips, Rhett’s hands gripped harder.

“Good?” Rhett stopped to ask, his voice a rough growl. He brushed his lips over the tip of Link’s erect manhood. “Yes?”

“Yes, it’s good, yes, yes, do it, Rhett – ”

Rhett took his hands away and went down on him smoothly, and it was so good that Link almost wanted to sob. He threw his head backward and shot his arms out to the sides, gripping the bed firmly. “Oh, God!” he cried at the ceiling. “Oh, fuck, Rhett. _Rhett_ , oh, how are you so good at this?”

“Mmmm,” Rhett moaned, sucking harder as if Link’s dick was the best thing he’d ever tasted. He seemed to have absolutely no gag reflex at all and was easily able to take Link all the way in with only a moment or two of resistance from the back of his throat.

Link started to ramble. “Uh, just in case this is totally humiliating, it’s been a long time. I’m not gonna last. Oh, gosh. I haven’t had – oh, _gosh_ , Rhett you’re so good, oh shit – I haven’t really had a partner for years.” He practically choked on his saliva when Rhett’s throat tightened around him as if he’d swallowed. “Dang, Rhett, this is going to be over so fast.”

He meant to warn Rhett, he really did. But when the wild man stroked his glistening cock with a look of fierce possessiveness and went back down on him with a muffled groan, Link couldn’t help himself. His body writhed and twisted in Rhett’s light grip and his orgasm hit him like a freight train. “Rhett,” he gasped as he rocketed over the peak of pleasure. He tried to tap at Rhett’s shoulder like Rhett had done to him, but his muscles weren’t obeying the commands from his brain. “I’m gonna – I can’t hold on – _Rhett!_ ”

Rhett only sucked harder and grunted quietly as Link’s seed began to spurt into his mouth. Most of Link’s past partners had treated this part as something awful to be endured, but Rhett held eye contact and swished the come around his mouth as though enjoying a fine wine. When he swallowed, he looked proud and delighted. He only pulled off when Link’s body sagged into the sheets, exhausted.

“Wow.” Link sucked in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. “Holy crap, Rhett. That was… _good._ Nobody’s ever made me feel like that before.”

Rhett looked positively smug. His lower lip glistened with saliva, or Link’s come. He licked it off and said, “I’m good.”

“You are. Hey, if I can make my legs work, I’ll make you that sandwich I promised. Eat?”

“Sleep,” Rhett demured, and Link gave in eagerly. It was pretty late already, and he was exhausted too. He got up and turned out the lights, gaining an approving hum from Rhett, and then made his way clumsily back to the bed in the darkness. Rhett immediately cuddled up next to him and after some rearranging of long limbs and fluffing of pillows, ended up spooning Link from behind. 

“This feels so nice,” Link told him. It was definitely an understatement. Link couldn’t remember the last time he’d had somebody beside him in his bed. It made for a pleasant change. Feeling Rhett’s soft manhood pressed flush against his backside was also welcomed.

“Smell good,” Rhett whispered into the nape of his neck and kissed him there softly. Link pushed back into the feeling, enjoying how much more he could feel the man’s lips without so much beard in the way. “I stay here for long time...to make you happy. Make you not alone anymore.” It was clear by the pride in his voice that he had been racking his brain to find the right words.

“Yes,” he whispered back. _But it’s supposed to be the other way around. You’ve got it backwards. You’re the lonely one who needs help…_

_Right?_


	7. Falling

Link came to consciousness slowly, pleasantly, his slumber for once not rudely interrupted by the bleating of his alarm but by someone nuzzling his ear. He stretched languidly and heard Rhett make a low noise of pleasure from somewhere beside him.

“Hey, you.” Link smiled lazily and turned on his side to put an arm around Rhett’s broad chest. “Sleep well?”

“Mmm.” Rhett hiked a leg over Link’s thighs and climbed half on top of him. He tucked his face beneath Link’s chin and kissed the prominent bulge of his Adam’s apple. “Long sleep.”

Link turned to look at the clock but couldn’t make it out. The sunlight coming in through the window drowned out the digital numbers, and he couldn’t sit up for a closer look with Rhett’s weight on him. “Feels like it’s almost noon,” he said. “I haven’t slept in like this on a weekday in forever.” Even as Rhett continued to pepper his neck with kisses, Link heard a loud rumble from the man’s stomach. “You must be pretty hungry. I’ll make breakfast.”

For the first time Rhett rolled off of him eagerly, the promise of food more important than pleasuring Link. “Sandwiches?” he asked.

“Maybe later. I thought I’d try making us an omelette. You’ve never had a cooked egg, right?” Link saw Rhett hesitate, and added, “You remember eggs? Did you ever put them on the fire?”

“No,” Rhett said emphatically. “We make fire?”

“Sort of. I’ll show you.” Link sat up and Rhett followed his lead. “I’m gonna brush my teeth first. I can’t believe I forgot last night. I bought an extra toothbrush for you too. Do you, uh…” A wonderful idea came to him. “Maybe you want to have a shower with me? In the water, to get clean?”

Rhett looked tempted, but shook his head. “After eat.”

“Good idea.”

Link pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and sweatpants, and made Rhett put on a pair of his biggest, loosest plaid cotton PJ bottoms. With the drawstring untied they just fit Rhett’s hips. Link waited for the protest against the clothing but none came. They brushed their teeth – Rhett giggling at the faces Link made, and laughing harder when he dripped foam into his own beard – and used the bathroom. Rhett confidently peed in the toilet with Link still standing at the sink, seemingly unconcerned about the lack of privacy, and seemed confused when Link pushed him into the hallway and closed the door so he could do the same.

“Why?” he heard Rhett ask plaintively from right behind the door. The shadows of his feet were visible in the crack beneath the wood paneling.

“It’s private,” Link called back. He finished, washed his hands and opened the door, giving Rhett a playful nudge as he passed. “I hope you at least shut the door when you have to poop.” 

Rhett grinned at him and followed him down the hall into the kitchen. “Where food? In fridge?”

“Everything we need is in the fridge. First I’ll get the eggs – ”

“I can get.” Rhett quickly located the carton and opened it. 

“Bring it on the counter.” Link glanced at Rhett’s face. “Can you take out five?” He held up his five splayed fingers.

Rhett did, handling the fragile eggs carefully in his big hands. “Five,” he repeated. He leaned on the counter and watched Link crack three into the mixing bowl, his eyes heavy-lidded with hunger and sleep but sharp and aware. 

Link got another bowl and filled it with chopped red pepper, letting Rhett taste a piece first, and then diced up some of the leftover ham his neighbour had pressed on him a few days before. The block Link lived on was full of older couples in their empty nester years and many of them seemed to think a bachelor was always on the verge of dying of malnutrition. No matter how often he protested that he didn’t need the help, they kept at it. With all the casseroles, leftovers, cookies and cakes brought to his door Link was sure he ate better than most married men. In return, Link was forever doing favours, going to pick up groceries or giving rides or helping with the gardening. He liked the work, and he liked feeling as though he had some sort of family here in LA – almost like having grandparents again. As far as he knew, his grandparents were still alive and well, but they had made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with a gay grandson.

Rhett liked the ham, and the smell of butter melting in the pan, and especially the raw egg mixture. Link turned to get milk from the fridge and had to smack Rhett’s hand away gently with the whisk when he caught the man dipping a finger into the bowl and licking it up with obvious pleasure.

“Hold on!” Link told him, indignant. “You have to wait for it to cook.“ He poured a dollop of milk in the bowl and began to whisk it all together. “We’ll put the eggs in first, and then sort of fold the other stuff in the middle. I have cheese somewhere…” He passed the bowl to Rhett. “Do you want to pour this in the pan?”

Link was nervous, but Rhett was not stupid; by the time Link had the brick of Havarti out the eggs were sizzling away. “Look,” he said as Link grated cheese into a dish. “Good?” 

“Very good.” He showed Rhett how to tilt the pan and let the egg flow into the empty space, and how to gently scrape the sides with a spatula and lift the omelette without breaking it. As he tended to the eggs, Link popped bread into the toaster, and poured two glasses of water. Then Link added first the pepper, and then the ham, sprinkled the centre liberally with cheese, and managed to fold it perfectly together. The whole thing took no more than a few minutes. Rhett jumped when the toaster popped and laughed at himself when he realized where the noise had come from.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself. Plate, fork, knife,” Link named everything and slid the first omelette onto the plate. “And your omelette – and there’s the toast. For you, Rhett.”

Rhett slid into a chair and put his face close to the place to smell the omelette. The smell made his eyes close in pleasure like a cat in the sunshine. “Link eat too? Come, sit.”

“I’m gonna make my own.” He’d used three eggs for Rhett, but only two for himself. As he prepared them he said, “I have butter and jam, for your toast. You use the knife – yeah, just like that.” 

Rhett buttered both slices and hesitantly put a small smear of jam on one. “Oh,” he said in surprise as picked up the omelette in his bare hand and took a bite. His eyes widened and lost their sleepy glaze.

“You like it?”

“Yes!” Fortified by his joy, Rhett made a valiant attempt to use his fork, but gave up when Link turned away.

Link cooked his own omelette, humming to himself as he worked. By the time he sat down at the table with his breakfast and coffee, Rhett had downed the omelette and most of the toast. “There’s more,” Link assured him. “You want to eat more? Maybe some fruit? I have oranges.” Link pointed and Rhett followed his gaze.

“Oh,” he said. “Fruit good. I get.” He brought one back to his seat, leaned over his plate, and sank his teeth into the thick rind to rip it away. The excess juice drained through his beard and onto the plate, which he had licked completely clean.

Link giggled at the sight. “Now we really need a shower.”

Rhett wiped at the juice with the napkin Link had given him and frowned at the sticky residue it left behind. “Very wet,” was his conclusion, “but very good.”

The omelette had turned out good and the coffee was even better. Once Link had a few bites he realized just how hungry he was. The quick rest stop the night before had not done much to curb the exhaustion of the long drive and all the walking he’d done out in the desert. Link made another piece of toast and grabbed the last ripe banana to finish off. Rhett waited in his chair as Link ate, alternating between looking at Link and checking out the view from the kitchen window. 

“Much better,” Link said, rubbing his full stomach as he washed the last bite down with a mouthful of coffee. “I didn’t realize that I was starving.”

Rhett stood up and took Link’s plate. He placed both dishes in the sink and ran water over them as if he did so every day. _Being here is good for his memory,_ Link thought to himself as he watched. “Thank you,” he said out loud, and Rhett gave him one of his cute smiles where the apples of his cheeks turned pink and his eyes crinkled up. “You ready for that shower?”

“In there?” Rhett pointed to the bathroom. 

“Yep, and you can finally take off those pants you hate so much.” The words were hardly out of Link’s mouth when Rhett had the pants down and slung over his shoulder. He kept his hands to himself as Link undressed, folded the clothes and set them on the dresser, and turned the water on.

“Warm water,” Rhett said, climbing in eagerly. “Hot water.”

“Oh yeah. Feels good, huh?” Link followed, letting Rhett enjoy the sensations first. He stood behind the big man and watched the water cascade over his shoulders and down his spine to pool in the divot of his lower back. He had to bite his lip and look away at the sight of the water droplets gleaming on Rhett’s firm ass. “Your lake was pretty, but there’s nothing like a hot shower to really make you feel great.”

Rhett turned and pulled Link flush against him. “Nice,” he said with satisfaction. “Link come get wet.”

He backed off enough to let Link share some of the water. Link stepped into the man’s arms, their naked bodies pressed flush together. Water droplets stuck to Rhett’s eyelashes as he looked down at the smaller man. Pleasant memories of their swim in the lake came to the forefront of Link’s mind. It had been such a strange and wonderful experience to be absolutely alone, in the middle of nowhere, slipping into the cold black water completely naked. The water had been as still as glass, an endless starry mirror. Rhett had made him feel so safe. Pure white moonlight glistened off the water beaded in his hair and gave the wild man an almost otherworldly appearance. After he had returned home Link had a hard time believing that it had ever happened. It was something straight out of a dream. Never had Link initiated sex with a near stranger, and he would have never guessed he’d do so with a cave-dwelling man who understood only a few words of English. Something about Rhett had just seemed so _right._

“Look good wet,” Rhett observed as he studied Link’s face. “Make kiss.”

“Okay,” Link agreed and tilted his face up to accept a gentle kiss on the lips. “I can still smell the orange juice in your beard,” he teased.

Rhett chuckled. “Good smell, bad feel.”

“Sticky,” Link agreed, reaching up to cup Rhett’s bristly chin. He rubbed at the coarse hair and let the running water clean it thoroughly. “I’ll wash your hair, too,” Link offered, and Rhett nodded with his eyes closed and his hair plastered down over his eyes. Link squirted shampoo into his palms and watched with amusement as Rhett gave his head a doglike shake, interested now from the fruity smell of the product Link was lathering in his hands. 

“Can you bend over a little?” he asked, flushing. 

“Mmm.” Rhett angled himself so the water stream was hitting his back and bent his head toward Link. The smaller man ran his foamy fingers through the dark honey-coloured strands, his breath catching at the intimacy of having Rhett adopt such a submissive position. Rhett made a low purr and the muscles in his back visibly relaxed.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Link asked, his voice barely louder than the pattering water. “Your hair is so soft. I would have never known.” _I did a good job cutting it, too,_ he thought with some pride as he got to examine his handiwork up close. Even in the dark, with kitchen scissors, he’d achieved a fairly even length all over. The longer hair at the top could be trimmed, or maybe styled up with gel. He raked that part back and looked down to see the difference in Rhett’s face. “Wow,” he said softly. “You are…the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, I think.”

Rhett pushed forward and pressed a cheek against Link’s chest. “Link handsome,” he said. “You are.”

“I’m okay.” Link felt absurdly skinny and pale next to Rhett but didn’t question the sincerity in the big man’s tone. “Nothing like you. Just…wow. I can’t wait to try out some new things with your hair.” Rhett had nicely defined widow’s peaks that went well with his dark and expressive eyebrows. Exposing his forehead made him look a little more fierce and a little less cuddly, but Link liked it. It turned him on to know how tough and strong Rhett could be. How easily the man could carry him, lift him up in those big arms, press him down onto the bed and hold him still… 

“I ought to get one of those hair-washing handheld shower heads,” Link told Rhett hastily before his fantasies took an even more intense turn. “It’s so nice to wash someone else’s hair. I wish…” He hesitated, hearing his father’s voice in his head: _I don’t know where your mom went wrong with you, but I’ll be damned if you turn out to be a sissy that likes to play with hair!_ And his step-dad, glowering. _You want to go do something like that with your life, you better do it far away from here, and start payin’ back that money we gave you for school…Matter of fact, you might as well start packin‘ your bags right now ‘fore the whole town finds out you’re a fag…_ It was an old hurt and he was well used to the sting of the words that dwelt deep in his head. “I wish things would have gone differently, that’s all. At least I can have fun doing your hair for you like this.”

The sudsy water at Rhett’s feet was brown from all the grease and sand in the man’s hair. Link quickly scrubbed his own head and rinsed too, adding to the mess. He hadn’t realized how dusty they’d gotten from the walk. Conditioner made Rhett’s fine soft hair turn to silk in Link’s hands, and when everything was rinsed and done Link felt great pride in himself and his work. Rhett sensed the change and smiled, swooping in for a wet kiss.

Link let him enjoy the heat as he turned and bent over to get his shower gel and loofah from the edge of the tub. Rhett turned too, quiet as a cat, and suddenly his hands were on Link’s ass, squeezing and fondling. “Rhett, hey, we gotta get clean first,” he made himself say, even as he pushed back into the firm touch. “We gotta…”

“I clean Link. I…I will clean.” 

_This could be fun._ Link grinned. “Okay, you can help. Hold out your hands.” He filled Rhett’s cupped palms with gel and did the same to his own. “Then we just have to…”

Rhett moaned when Link’s soapy hands slid up his chest and cupped his pecs. “Arms up,” Link whispered, and gave him a push to make him lift his arms over his head. He was so tall that his fingertips could nearly touch the ceiling. Link soaped up the man’s armpits, admiring the taut muscles and the way Rhett’s eyes glazed over at the intimate touch. In return Rhett washed Link’s back. He started at Link’s shoulders, which he happily proclaimed as, “Big,” and rubbing down either side of his spine. 

Pleased by the compliment, Link arched his back and pushed his ass out, inviting Rhett’s hands to glide lower and lower until soapy fingers were teasingly close to the place Link was most curious to let Rhett explore. Rhett seemed to sense Link’s mingled excitement and apprehension and slowed his pace accordingly.

“Good, Rhett,” he whispered as Rhett massaged his ass gently. Link trailed bubbles down Rhett’s flat stomach and around the lines of his hips. The man was semi-hard again and becoming more aroused the more his hands explored Link’s ass and thighs. His mouth practically watered at the sight of the glistening manhood and he used his slick soapy hand to give it a few teasing strokes. 

“Just making sure _all_ of you gets clean,” Link purred as Rhett bucked into his hand with a grunt. A wicked thought came over him. “If you turn around for me I can do an even more thorough job.”

With a push to his hip Rhett turned to face the stream of water. He leaned forward, letting the water hit his upper back, and Link braced his feet in a wide stance so he could lean into Rhett without falling over. The gel was still on the side of the tub and Link picked up the entire bottle to drizzle a pattern down Rhett’s lean back and ass. Rhett’s butt clenched a little at the cold feeling and Link giggled.

“I’ll warm you up, Rhett,” he promised, putting his palms flat on Rhett’s lower back and sweeping up and down. Rhett’s characteristic baritone voice rose up in pitch and he let out a much breathier moan when Link rubbed his ass. “You like that, baby?” he asked, giving the flesh a hard squeeze that made Rhett rock up on his toes. “You feel so dang good.”

Tilting his hand, he ran it down Rhett’s cleft to make the man groan more loudly. Something about Rhett’s animalistic nature made Link feel like an animal himself. He was not normally so forward and had never touched another man in this way. In the past he’d avoided any hint of being interested in anal play just in case his partner took it to mean that Link was ready to try being penetrated. Before he’d met Rhett he had thought that he was simply uptight but he knew now that he had simply never met anyone who truly awoke his deepest desires. 

“Have you ever touched yourself here?” Link asked as he used two fingers to rub the tight puckered skin. Rhett reacted enthusiastically but shook his head. “Does it feel good when I do it?”

“Want,” was all Rhett had, his voice ragged, and that was clear enough for Link.

He didn’t want to penetrate Rhett, not here in the shower without proper lube. But teasing the man’s hole with slippery fingers was good enough for both of them. Rhett widened his legs as much as he could in the confines of the shower, moving his hips in encouragement. Link, getting more worked up by the second, began to breathe hard. Keeping a clear head was a struggle. He wanted to bring Rhett to the very heights of ecstasy, make him so hard that he would be whimpering to come. Finally, Link spread him open and let the water wash away all traces of soap, and got down on his knees.

“Link!” Rhett said in surprise. “What…?” He sounded excited, perhaps remembering the pleasures Link’s mouth could bring. “Please?”

“Yeah,” Link panted, “I’ll give you what you want, big guy, don’t worry.” Leaning forward, he rubbed his stubbly cheek across Rhett’s smooth skin, alternating this rough touch with a swipe of velvety tongue. The crease of his upper thighs looked too good to resist and so Link sucked the skin there lightly to form a faint hickey. Water streamed into his eyes and he closed them, letting his lips and tongue do the exploring. He hesitated for only a second before swiping his tongue over Rhett’s hole.

The man tasted good, just like skin and faint soap. He gave a firmer lick and made Rhett cry out for more. Link was all too willing to give in. The act was wonderfully intimate and deeply arousing. He drew slow circles around the puckered rim with the tip of his tongue, pulling away only to breathe and diving back in to increase the pressure. Link kept his hands on Rhett’s ass to hold the man open for easy access. After a while Rhett reached back with one hand to help. Link gasped, inhaling water, mesmerized by the sight. Rhett looked over his shoulder, his smile both embarrassed and pleased.

He did not take too long of a break. Rhett looked down at him with mute appeal and Link couldn’t help growl deep in his chest. It was amazing how Rhett could invoke both the dominant and submissive sides of Link’s personality so easily. He wondered what it would be like to have Rhett on his back, legs in the air, that strangely fierce yet puppy-like face looking up at him needily, and the thought made him lunge in for more. Rhett keened as Link closed his lips over the hole and _sucked_ , gentle but relentless, and then thrust his tongue just inside the tight ring of muscle.

“ _Link,_ “ Rhett groaned, desperate, and from the man’s movements Link could tell he had begun to stroke himself. “I…am going to…”

“Here,” Link said breathlessly, pulling away with a wet noise. “Let me touch your dick, I want to be the one to make you come.” 

With a tug at his hip, Rhett turned around, his eager cock inches from Link’s face. He held the base in one hand and brought the head to Link’s mouth. “Please?” he almost begged, and Link smirked up at him as he opened his lips and let Rhett push inside. The water droplets flying in a mist around their bodies made it impossible to hold eye contact for long and Link closed his eyes again. 

“Mmm,” he moaned thickly, swallowing around the length in his mouth.

“Link like,” Rhett groaned back, pleased. “Taste good, Link?”

 _Good god._ “Mmmhmm,” he tried his best to agree, and Rhett stroked his hair tenderly.

It did not take long to bring Rhett to orgasm. Link was shocked at how hard the flesh was against his tongue. He felt wonderfully filthy and carnal, on his knees for the big handsome man, sucking eagerly as Rhett rocked his hips forward and back to help guide the rhythm. Water streamed into his nose, making it difficult to breathe, and Link had to pull off and gasp for air repeatedly. Rhett didn’t try to fuck into his mouth during these interludes but rubbed his cock over Link’s cheeks. It made them both give desperate moans. When Link accepted the length back into his mouth Rhett showered him with broken words of praise, mostly _Link_ and _good_ and _more_. Link’s knees ached from the hard surface and his eyes were blurred from the water, but none of that mattered. _I never knew it could feel this good, to do this for somebody else._

When Link heard Rhett give a short noise of warning, a sense of daring seized him and he pulled off quickly and used both hands to bring the man to the edge. Rhett made a questioning noise but quickly seemed to understand what Link was after.

Rhett’s come was hotter than the water of the shower as it splashed across Link’s lips and chin. It was dirty in the best way and Link loved it. As Rhett groaned and slumped sideways against the wall Link could not help but stroke his own manhood hard and fast, making a slippery mess all over his thighs and belly in less than a minute.

Rhett seemed to love the sight of Link covered in come. He bent awkwardly and used a big thumb to swipe his own mess over Link’s lips. Link grinned up at him and flicked his tongue out to lick some from Rhett’s thumb. Rhett moaned, and Link stood up to pin the man against the wall and kiss him hard. The big man did not mind the taste of his own seed, and he licked it from Link’s lips eagerly.

“Wow,” Rhett said feebly as Link turned to wash the come from his thighs and turn the water off. “You…are…very good.”

“It was good for me, too,” Link smiled as he squeezed water from his hair and got out of the tub. He had towels fresh from the laundry, and handed one to Rhett. Link rubbed himself dry and wrapped the towel around his waist, and Rhett copied him.

Rhett looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his wet hair, spiking the middle part up in a swoop. “Link go in shower again later,” he said firmly. “Want to do to Link. Use mouth for Link.”

Link caught sight of himself in the mirror. He was blushing. “I want that too,” he admitted. “But gosh…I might lose my head again and want even more of you.” He bit his lip. “Do you even know what I might mean by that? I’ve never…I guess you haven’t either….”

“Give Link more, if want,” Rhett promised. “Make you happy.” He snuggled up to Link and kissed the top of his head, holding him gently as if Link were the most fragile and valuable thing in the world. Though he did not have the words to express himself, his eyes said it all. _I love you,_ they were saying. Link felt it in his heart.

Was he just imagining things he hoped to be true? It was very possible that Rhett was simply fascinated by meeting another human being for the first time in so long. That novelty would quickly wear off if he were to live here permanently. _Am I crazy? Am I just overwhelmed by how attractive he is? Does he just want me because I’m so easy to get in bed - and because he has nowhere else to go?_ He’d been fooled once before, by a man who seemed so sweet and kind and gentle…

But all of his instincts told him that Rhett was different. Looking back on his failed relationship, Link now recognized the warning signs that had been there. He’d simply been too excited to finally get to be with another man, to enjoy sex as he never had with the one woman he’d been close with. The excitement had blinded him to how slimy the guy really was. In contrast, the worship in Rhett’s eyes was unmistakeable. Link felt the man’s love in every touch, every word he spoke. 

Even so, his doubting nature refused to stop nagging him. Why was it so hard to accept that somebody could love him? Maybe because his own parents didn’t want him, no man had ever wanted more than his body, and even his old friends from high school and college had turned on him when he came out. Link laid the blame largely on them…but kept a small piece for himself, it had to be said. Maybe if he was a better person, a stronger person, somebody who didn’t say weird things at the wrong time, somebody who wanted to play football instead of playing with hair, his family would have overcome their homophobia. Even Rhett surely thought him to be weak. After all, he’d gone and fainted like a damsel in distress in the middle of the desert.

The look on Rhett’s face changed from contentment to worry. “Link feel sad again?” he asked with concern. “No sad please. Make kiss with me.”

Link couldn’t resist that face and he gave in. Rhett rubbed their noses together affectionately before kissing him softly. 

_Do you love me?_ he wanted to ask. He had a sneaking suspicion that he was beginning to fall in love with Rhett, and it was both frightening and exhilarating. It had only happened once before, with that first man he’d dated, and that had not ended well.

_Just have faith, Link. For once in your life, stop worrying._

But his stomach was in knots. Anxiety, another one of his fabulous flaws. He pushed the feeling down and clung harder to Rhett’s body, seeking the comfort and love he so badly desired. “We’re gonna have fun today,” he said out loud. 

He was not sure if he was trying to convince himself, or Rhett.

“Yes,” Rhett agreed, looking at him warmly as if he could tell Link was stressed. “We have fun.”

**

Conquering his anxiety was easier when he had somebody at his side. With Rhett’s help, they managed to have a fun and productive day together.

First, Link took Rhett to a park where they could walk around a pond holding hands. Rhett pointed out things he knew the words to describe and listened to Link’s descriptions with an attentive ear. From time to time Rhett would leave the trail and show Link a plant and describe what it could be used for. He brought Link a pretty purple flower to hold, and showed how he could learn whether or not something was poisonous by first rubbing a small bit on the crook of his arm. “Skin there go red, show you if bad,” he explained. “If skin not red after, put food on…” He indicated his tongue and Link taught him the word. “But no eat. If bad food, you feel bad on tongue.” They sat on the swings together - Rhett’s long legs awkward with the seat so low - and Link listened to Rhett tell stories about the desert in his halted and broken English. From periods of starvation to being bitten by a Gila monster to a close run-in with a cougar and her kittens, Rhett’s life seemed full of incredible drama. There were good stories, too – floating on his back in the lake to watch meteor showers, amazing lightning storms, the thrill of hunting, the attempt at making a weapon that sounded to Link a lot like a bow-and-arrow. Even with Rhett’s limited (but improving) linguistic skills, Link was fascinated. Rhett seemed to be a natural storyteller. Link hung on every word. More than once, he even laughed out loud. When Rhett told him of seeing cars driving along the highway a long way off and campers who threw trash around and blared music into the night, Link could imagine how loud and frightening humans were to this desert-dwelling man.

“But weren’t you ever lonely?” Link asked impulsively after Rhett had been quiet for some time. “Didn’t it make you feel sad to be all alone? Did you ever want to go be with the people?”

Rhett looked surprised. “Not alone,” he said. “Many animals.”

“But no people.”

“No people,” Rhett agreed, “but good anyway. Why need people?”

“People can love you, care for you, make you laugh. Don’t you ever remember being sad or upset because you had no people with you?”

A shadow crossed over the brilliant California sun. Rhett dug his feet into the sand to slow his swinging. “Yes,” he said slowly. “One time…when I was very small…”

Link held his breath, dreading the story.

“No food, no water, very long time. Sun hot. Hurt bad.” Rhett indicated his face, back and shoulders. “Hurt so bad, do not walk.”

“You were in a car with your family, Rhett,” Link told him softly. “The car crashed. You escaped. All alone in the desert, not knowing where you were. Halfway to Lake Havasu City.”

“My family?”

“I’ll show you a picture when we get home. You had a mom and a dad and a brother.”

Rhett only shook his head, though his eyes were misty.

“You don’t remember much? What a blessing that is.”

“I remember…” Rhett held his fingers close together to indicate a small amount. “Tell you later?”

“Okay,” Link said easily. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure Rhett and upset him.

“I do remember…people give me food, water. I live…in house, like Link.”

“That’s right,” Link said. “How did you find food and water in the end?”

“I find lake. Find fruits. Eat eggs. Then I find cave, long time later, keep warm.” Rhett did not seem particularly upset. “So long ago.”

“Amazing,” Link reflected. “It really puts my problems in perspective.”

“I am happy now,” Rhett declared, “Link here makes me happy.” He hopped off the swing. “Come walk more, with me. Good sun. See birds.”

“Okay,” Link agreed, taking the offered hand. “Then we’ll head back to my place for lunch.”

“More food?”

“That’s the plan.” Link laughed at Rhett’s eagerness and struggled to keep up. The hot sun was making him feel logy and slow. “And then, after, maybe we can watch a movie.”

“Movie?”

“You might remember when I show you. I think you’ll like it,” Link told him. “I’ll make popcorn to eat. Unless we’re too full from lunch, that is.” He’d thought about going to the theatre, but knew Rhett didn’t really like loud noises. Plus it was hard to cuddle in a crowded theatre. “We’ll take the long way around the trail back to my car.”

“To Link’s house?” Rhett questioned, and smiled when Link nodded.

“That’s right. To our home, Rhett.”

The single cloud in the sky disappeared, leaving only the endless blue above them.

**

The movie was good, and so were the bacon sandwiches Link made. Rhett didn’t seem as impressed with the superhero action on screen as Link thought he would be, but the big man did like snuggling up on the couch beneath a blanket with his hands on Link’s stomach and chest. However, he did pay attention, and Link figured it was good to have the man listen to two hours of English dialogue to help speed up the process of re-learning the language.

The only time Rhett’s happiness seemed to falter was when they went for a late afternoon walk around Link’s neighbourhood. He did not understand why he could not leave the sidewalk and walk into people’s yards as he had wandered off the trail in the park.

“No, Rhett.” Link grabbed his hand as he made to approach a small red-brick bungalow. “That’s not our house.”

Rhett gave him a look that clearly said _Well, yeah, I know, I’m not a complete idiot._ “Like flowers,” he said. “See, Link? Good flowers. Red and orange. Want to get for you.” 

“Yeah, it’s a nice garden, but it doesn’t belong to us. We can’t pick the flowers.”

“Link walk in garden, take flowers, at…at…”

“Springmount Park?” Link filled in and Rhett nodded. “That’s different. That’s a public park. It’s for everybody.”

“How know?”

“You’ll have to learn how to read first. Parks will have signs. Or they’ll be in the open, not behind a house, not fenced in.” Link frowned; he was doing a poor job of explaining it. “This house is like someone’s cave. Like your cave. Only you can be in your cave, right?”

“No. Link come.”

“Because you let me.”

“No,” Rhett insisted. “Link come in anyway. If Link bad I fight. If Link stronger, take cave from me. Is how all animals do.”

It was hard to argue with the man. “Well, in the city you can’t just go wherever you want. They’re gonna think you’re bad. That you’re there to take stuff from them. They might hurt you. And even if they don’t, they’ll call the cops. People that take you to a little room where you can’t get out.”

Rhett frowned deeply at this and let go of his hand for a while. His feet dragged and his pace slowed. Link, feeling a little guilty, decided to look up a recipe and hit the grocery store later to make Rhett a fish dinner.

“Cheer up,” he told Rhett brightly. “Want to eat fish with me?”

“I catch,” Rhett said automatically, and tonelessly.

“You could,” Link agreed, “but let me show you something even easier. I’m gonna take you somewhere with lots of food where we can pick whatever we want. Sound good?”

The gloom lifted from Rhett’s face and Link breathed a sigh of relief. When they got back home, Link left him outside and ran to get his wallet before they both got into his car and started on their way.

Link drove to the Whole Foods and loitered in the parking lot as he looked up the easiest way to cook fish. He didn’t make seafood for himself and had no idea what was in season or what you could do with fish besides serve it on its own. The idea of breaded fish sticks appealed to him – it was one of the few ways he could stand the taste – but he doubted Rhett would like such processed fare. _I can buy something fresh and Rhett will know how to get the meat out, or just buy those fillets they have in trays._ he thought. _And to make things easier, I’ll just bust out the barbecue. Grilling is easy._

“I’ll fire up the grill,” he told Rhett, turning off his phone. “We’ll do halibut or salmon. They don’t taste as fishy to me, so I might enjoy them too. They’re easy to season with just salt and pepper and I’ll grab a lemon to squeeze on. Most of the recipes recommended lemon.”

Rhett was excited to get out of the car. “Come, Link. Show me fish.”

Link held Rhett’s hand loosely as they shopped, giggling at Rhett’s curiosity. The automatic sliding doors made him laugh and the sight of the produce section made his eyes go huge.

It took them nearly five times longer to pick up food than it usually did because Rhett insisted on looking at _everything._ He was offended by the dead fish in the deli laid out on ice. “No good,” he told Link. “All hard.” 

“They’re cold. That makes them stay good longer.”

“No,” Rhett disagreed. “Must catch and eat fast.”

“Trust me,” Link told him. “Look at these, here. Halibut fillets. Jeeze, they’re kinda pricey.”

Rhett picked up one of the trays and poked at a fillet through the plastic wrap. “Weird. What ‘pricey’?”

“They’ll taste good, okay?” Link took it out of his hands and put it in the cart. “Remember the breakfast I made for you? I promise that I’ll make a dinner just as good. Maybe we can go camping some day and you can show off your fishing skills again, but for today, this is the best I can do.” To placate the man Link leaned in close and laid his head on Rhett’s shoulder. “And ‘pricey’ means it costs a lot of money. I give the store money to take the food. It’s really not that bad – I can afford it, trust me. You are worth it.”

Rhett smiled and brushed a kiss on Link’s forehead. A group of people, two men and a woman, stared in disapproval and Link automatically grabbed the cart and made to put an aisle or two between them. He knew that look. Rhett followed, looking troubled.

The people were muttering to each other loud enough for Link to hear. “…fags are everywhere these days,” one man was saying. “I don’t hate ‘em, but by God they oughter stop shoving it down our throats. They got no business doin’ that stuff in front of the children.”

‘The children’ comprised of one ruddy-faced toddler clinging onto the woman’s hand, staring vacantly at the lurid display of soda pop bottles. Link snorted and turned away, sliding an arm around Rhett’s back. There was a time when he would have fled, but living in LA had made him bolder. It upset him to have such hate directed at him for no reason but he was almost used to it.

Rhett was unafraid of the stare the larger man gave him. He stared back, his eyes fierce and hawk-like, until the other man looked away. Rhett curved an arm protectively around Link’s back as they turned into the next aisle and kept his eyes behind them as Link picked out a tin of ground coffee and pretended to be unaffected.

“Bad person,” Rhett said. “Want fight.”

“How do you know?”

“I know. I see.”

“Well, don’t worry. I don’t think they’ll start anything in a grocery store.”

“Not scared,” Rhett looked insulted. “I could fight.”

“I bet you could.” Link glanced at the way Rhett’s biceps bulged from beneath the T-shirt. “But then we’d get in trouble.”

“Oh.” Rhett considered this. “Link know why person want fight?”

“Yeah.” Link dropped a bag of sugar into his cart. “I think I do.”

“Why?” Rhett asked.

It was a good question. “Well, Rhett…some people don’t like the idea of two men being together like we are. They think that men should only be with women. He saw us holding hands and got offended.”

“Bad person with other man in store, together,” Rhett pointed out. 

“I mean together as in how we sleep beside each other, and do other things. Like we’re…” Link searched for the word. “Lovers, I guess. Boyfriends? Like how animals have mates.”

“Lovers?”

“People who love each other, and want to do things like when we are in bed together, or in the shower.” Link chuckled sheepishly.

Rhett grinned and nodded, then looked contemplative. “Is good,” he said reflectively, “so why want fight?”

“That’s really hard to explain.” Link winced, remembering the things his family used to say about the issue. “I guess part of it comes from a religious bias, and some of it is cultural…”

Rhett didn’t understand either of those words. “Wrong,” he declared anyway. “Why they care?”

“Yes, they’re wrong.” Link was sure about that. “I don’t know why they care. We need to ignore those bad people. No fighting. Just don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Rhett picked up a bag of dried beans. “Stupid.”

“Very stupid.”

The group of ‘bad people’ appeared at the end of the aisle. Rhett gave a loud, derisive snort that made Link giggle. This earned them both a hostile glare from the woman that made the two men laugh harder.

“Come on,” Rhett said loudly enough to them to hear. “Kiss again, Link.”

“Okay,” Link agreed, just as loudly, and let Rhett pull him close. They didn’t kiss - they were smirking too widely for that - but they looked into each other’s eyes with mirth as they heard the squeak of the grocery cart beating a fast retreat. 

His adrenaline was racing at the bold confrontation, but he was grinning. So was Rhett. “Stupid to be scared, of us together,” Rhett said scornfully at their retreating backs. “Stupid people.” They reached the end of the aisle and Rhett grew interested in the packages of chicken breasts in the deli that stretched along the back wall. 

It was wonderful to feel so safe in public. If Rhett had stayed in North Carolina, if they’d grown up together and become boyfriends, would any of the bullies in high school dared touch Link? Link didn’t think so. He was scrawny and known to be sensitive; that’s why he was a target. Who would want to start a fight with Rhett, though? Link hadn’t yet seen Rhett become angry but it surely would not be a pretty sight.

Link turned the cart into the last aisle and grabbed the last few things he needed. Milk, eggs, orange juice and heavy cream. Rhett nodded his approval at the big carton of eggs and followed Link into the line-up at the check-out. Even something as mundane as grocery shopping seemed fun when he was with Rhett. Link found himself smiling at everyone who passed, his feet tapping to the tinny music bleating from the overhead speakers, blushing whenever Rhett leaned against him or let a hand brush his hip. 

The cashier knew Link as a regular customer, and when she saw him approach with Rhett in tow she gave the tall man an appraising glance and tipped a wink in Link’s direction. She was an extraordinarily pretty young woman, and Link did not fail to note the absolute lack of interest on Rhett’s face. He had eyes only for Link.

“Halibut?” the cashier said in surprise as she scanned the bar code. “I could have sworn you told me that you hate seafood.”

“Maybe I changed my mind, a little.” Link jerked his head at Rhett, who had slid to the other side of the line to make room for the people behind them to begin loading their groceries onto the conveyor belt. He was gazing out the window at the enormous parking lot. “I thought I’d show off my great bachelor cooking skills for my boyfriend here.”

“Bachelor skills? So that means the microwave and the barbecue, am I right?”

“You got me. At least the barbecue is perfect for a dinner outside on my patio.”

“That’s romantic,” she smiled. “You know what goes great with grilled halibut?”

“I’d have no idea. What?”

“White wine,” she said. “Sauvignon Blanc. If you really want to impress Strong-and-Silent over there, go pick up a bottle and put it on ice.”

Link perked up. It was a good idea. It would be something new for Rhett to try. This Whole Foods didn’t sell wine, he knew, but there was a winery only a five minute drive off his usual route home. “Thanks,” he told the cashier fervently. “I don’t know anything about wine pairings.”

“No problem.” She handed him the receipt. “Have fun. Remember, if you cook, he should offer to do the dishes. That’s how you know he’s a keeper.”

“I’m pretty confident that I want to keep him already,” Link smiled. “Have a good day, miss.”

“Oh, I will,” she said archly. “And it looks like you will too. You got yourself one fine fox there.”

Link grabbed his bags and fell into step with Rhett, who immediately offered to carry all the bags by himself.

 _Definitely a keeper,_ he thought with satisfaction.

**

The dinner was a great success. Rhett loved the fish, and loved the wine almost as much. He downed two glasses and asked for a third, and Link had to try and explain what it was to be drunk. Rhett thought it sounded fun, and Link changed tactics and explained instead what it meant to vomit. This did the trick. Rhett agreed to wait a few hours before another glass.

Later, after another cup of wine and an entertaining time showing Rhett various television shows, they retired to bed. The wine didn’t affect Rhett as much as it did Link, but given the other man’s enormous weight it was not too surprising.

Neither man was in the mood for sex now. Perhaps the wine had made them especially relaxed. Rhett was content to cuddle and Link was glad; he was tired out from the long day of excitement and worried that Rhett would feel the same way. Rhett undressed completely, of course, but Link kept his boxers on. They laid beside each other in companionable silence with their fingers intertwined.

“What an amazing day,” reflected Link, turning his pillow over to get at the cooler side. “I wonder if this is what it’s like to be married. Doing mundane things like cooking and taking walks and picking up groceries, but doing it all with your best friend, knowing you’ll get to sleep beside them when the day’s over.” A lot of his old friends back home had married young. Link had always wished he could share their happiness. 

“Fun day.” Rhett kissed his cheek. “Soft bed good. Want sleep.”

“Me too.” Link fell silent and so did Rhett. For a while the only sounds in the room were the distant rush of cars and their own rhythmic breathing.

“Link?” Rhett whispered after fifteen minutes or so. “Link sleep?”

“I’m still awake.” Link opened his eyes in the darkness when he felt Rhett’s warm breath on his face. “What’s wrong, Rhett?”

Rhett bent down and kissed him, sweet and slow. “I love you,” he said when they parted, and Link’s heart felt like it had been catapulted up to heaven. Though he could barely make out Rhett’s face in the dark, he stared upward at where he thought Rhett’s eyes were. The sincerity of the words was unmistakeable. Link tried to remember the last time he’d heard those words directed at him and couldn’t. The realization brought tears to his eyes.

“Link?” Rhett asked worriedly after the smaller man did not respond. “I make you angry? Say wrong thing?”

“No, no, Rhett. You…you made me happy. It’s just that nobody’s said that to me in such a long time.”

Rhett touched the wetness at the corner of Link’s eyes. “Link alone for long time. I here now for Link. Don’t cry.”

“Yes, I have been.” How strange, to have the wild man who’d lived as a hermit in a cave comfort _him_ about being lonely. “I love you too,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around Rhett’s shoulders. “Until you came, I never realized how lonely I was. I’ve been foolin’ myself, thinking I’ve been happy and successful here. But I have nobody. Nobody wanted me. I was never good enough. I have some friends and some coworkers I like, but nobody that makes me feel special. Only you.”

“Link handsome, could get many other men who want,” Rhett argued softly. “Easy to love you.”

This time it was Link who had no words. Perhaps Rhett saw something in his face, because he smiled and rolled onto his side, pulling Link with him so that they were spooning. “Sleep, Link. Wake up and I cook for you. I make good omelette with ham.”

Link let his head fall back onto Rhett’s shoulder and was out before he could even reply.


	8. Pulse

Rhett had a very good visual memory that aided him enormously during his first foray into the kitchen alone. He woke first and gently disentangled Link’s arms from his body without waking the smaller man. It was hard to resist the urge to kiss the cute sleeping face, but Rhett wanted to surprise his mate with breakfast as he had promised.

He copied Link’s steps exactly - putting the pan on the lower-right hot spot, cutting a knob of butter to place in the middle, and turning the dial so that the orange light came on. The butter began to make sizzling sounds and smell very good. He got a bowl out and cracked eggs into it and put in some milk and a small bit of salt. He couldn’t find the thing Link had used to stir the eggs, but he used a fork and it seemed to look alright. The ham wasn’t in the fridge any more, but he found the cheese and more of the crisp red thing Link had chopped up. With a knife, he cut the red thing into small pieces, and rubbed the brick of cheese on the metal grater. 

The eggs went into the pan first. He waited until the eggs had gone a little more hard, and then put the peppers and cheese in. After the cheese turned gooey, he knew it was time to fold and flip. Link had used the flat thing to fold the omelette perfectly, and Rhett didn’t quite achieve the exact shape but it looked and smelled very close to what he wanted. Grinning with pride, Rhett put that one on a plate and made another omelette. While the eggs were cooking he put slices of the soft bread in the white hot box and pushed the button down. Inside the box were holes where orange heat, like fire, glowed. It made the bread crispy and good to put butter on.

Back in the bedroom, he heard Link stir, just as the toast was done. The floor made noises and he knew Link was up and walking to the bathroom. Anxious, he put the second omelette on a plate and got the toast out too, and surveyed his work. Had he done everything right? The toast was a little dark. He hoped Link wouldn’t mind. He had put the butter for the toast on the table and each plate had a fork and knife next to it. The only thing he was missing was coffee for Link, but he hadn’t seen how Link made that last time. He’d been too busy eating the amazing food.

Soon Link came down the hall, still wearing just pants. Nice soft loose pants. Rhett loved to see his mate without a shirt. The fur on his body was very good. Rhett stood in the doorway to the kitchen so Link wouldn’t see the prepared breakfast just yet.

“Good morning,” Link said sleepily, and rubbed his eyes.

“Good morning,” Rhett repeated. “Link hungry?”

“I sure am. Do I smell toast?”

Rhett, grinning, stepped aside and presented the table to Link.

“You made us breakfast?” Link asked, looking impressed. He stared at the plates. “Wow, Rhett!”

“I make omelette and toast,” Rhett said proudly.

“It looks amazing!” Link sat down in his chair and picked up his fork. “Thank you. It all looks so perfect.”

“I tell you last night, will make omelette.”

“I know, but I thought you’d need help remembering how,” Link confessed. “You were okay using the stove by yourself?” 

“Easy,” Rhett confirmed. “Eat, Link. Warm food get cold.”

“Okay, okay.” Link’s first bite was hesitant, but soon he was eating happily. Rhett thought the taste was very good – maybe not quite as good as Link’s omelette, but close. His chest puffed up with pride when he saw how much Link was enjoying it. Rhett watched to see if the dark toast bothered him, but he ate it enthusiastically. Rhett had forgotten that Link liked sweet things, so Link did get up to get the jam from the fridge, but other than that he thought he did a very good job.

“What do you want to do today?” Link asked after they were done. “Did you want to go to a different park? Maybe down to the beach?”

“Beach?”

“Beside the ocean,” Link explained. “Do you remember what the ocean is?”

Rhett shook his head. “Tell me.”

“The ocean is like a huge lake to swim in,” Link elaborated, “and the beach is sandy, perfect for lying down on a blanket. There are lots of people and things to do, but if you want, we can just swim and relax.”

“Want swim,” Rhett said, happy. “Want to see ocean.”

“There we go, then. We’ll go to the beach.” Link was clearly excited. “I’ll buy you some swim trunks on the way.” He picked up the plates and put them in the sink. “Let me go get dressed and pack some towels and sunscreen, okay?”

“Okay,” Rhett said, and waited while his mate went into the bedroom. He was already dressed. Link was smaller than him but some of the clothes fit. On the bottom he wore the pants Link had made him put on out in the desert before bringing him to the city. On top he had a blue shirt.

His mate put on good clothes too. Tight black pants and tight green shirt. Rhett could see the outline of what was beneath the pants when Link stretched his arms over his head. And when Link turned around his butt looked especially round. Before he even knew what he was doing he was reaching for Link to put his hands up and down the firm body.

“What do you think you’re doing, mister?” Link giggled.

“Touching Link’s butt,” Rhett answered honestly, and Link laughed harder.

“That I could tell,” Link arched into the touch. “Rhett, gosh, you’re gonna make me hard.”

This excited him. “Want Link hard.”

“I thought you wanted to go to the beach,” Link teased. “Changed your mind already?”

“Link wear good clothes. Good to look at. I must touch. Beach later.”

Link did the cute thing where his head ducked down and his smile got very big. “I thought you might like them,” he admitted. “I haven’t worn these jeans in forever. They’re a little…showy. They were made for women, actually.”

Rhett had noticed that men and women seemed to wear some different clothes, but he couldn’t tell how pants were different. He cupped the swell of Link’s ass. “Link want to shower?”

“We just had baths last night! And we’re going to the beach soon! No shower, Rhett.” 

Rhett was remembering the very good thing Link had done for him with his mouth. “Not to clean, but…I want…” He licked his lips and Link stared.

“Goodness, Rhett,” he said faintly. “You really want to do that for me?”

“Yes!” Rhett was sure about this. He loved putting his mouth all over Link. He took Link in his arms and picked him up with his strong arms and carried him to the couch. He put Link down so he was lying on his belly. Then he put his face in the back of Link’s shirt, kissing and nuzzling through the clothing and moving downward as Link had done to him. Link moaned and moved around a little and his rear end arched up towards Rhett. Rhett smoothed big palms over it, rubbing circles as Link sighed and moaned more. It felt so, so good to bend down and put his face against Link’s butt. Even if there were clothes in the way. Rhett growled deep in his chest and moved his head from side to side. When he breathed out with his lips against the scratchy jeans he made Link’s crack warm and moist from his breath. Link gave a cry and his arms shot up to grab the couch.

“Oh, gosh, Rhett,” he gasped. “You’re very convincing…”

“Want.” Rhett was hard in his own pants. “Link, want you. Can we…”

A sound came from the door, a loud sound that Rhett didn’t like. He jumped. Link turned over, his face red and sweaty and embarrassed.

“Shoot,” he said. “I wonder who that is?”

“Person at the door?” Rhett frowned. “Link scared?”

“No, no, it’s probably just a neighbour.” Link patted Rhett on the shoulder as he stood up with shaky legs. “Gosh, I don’t look too out of the ordinary, I hope?”

“Link look good but red face,” Rhett said honestly. “And messy hair.” 

Link groaned good naturedly. He smoothed his hair and straightened his clothes and went to go see who was at the door. Rhett laid back on the couch and tried to catch his breath while he heard Link speaking politely to a man Rhett did not know. After several minutes, he came back holding a box.

“I ordered some clothes online for you,” said Link, setting the box down by the door to his room. “That was the delivery guy, bringing it for me.”

“Where from?”

“I used a website to order clothing and then they shipped it to me. Probably from China, or somewhere. I’m not sure.”

Rhett hated clothing but did not want to upset Link. “Thank you,” he said, and Link beamed. The interlude had made Rhett lose his hardness. He tried to get Link to come sit on the couch again, but he refused.

“Nuh-uh, you’re not distracting me again!” Link wiggled free of his grip. “We’re going to the beach,” he said firmly, but his eyes were smiling. “And then I’m going to make a stop on the way before I forget. I need to pick up some things from the drug store.”

“Food?” Rhett asked, tilting his head.

Link had a weird face. He was feeling many things, Rhett could tell. Happy, a little scared, a little mischievous. “Not food, Rhett,” he said. “I was thinking it might be a good idea to get the stuff we need in case I want to…in case we want to…” He cleared his throat. “Maybe not tonight, but…soon…”

Rhett was confused. “What Link say?”

Link bit his lip. “I’ll tell you later, okay? Don’t worry. It’s something good.”

Rhett nodded in satisfaction and stood up. “Okay, we go to drug store and then we go to beach.”

“You got it, big guy.”

They linked hands and walked out of the house and into Link’s car.

**

Rhett did not get to see what Link bought in the drug store called Walgreens. It must have been small enough to go in the pocket. When asked, Link got a little red and just said, “Lube, okay? It’s lube.” But he would not expand on what that was.

Rhett pressed him. “Tell me, Link. Want to know.”

Link kept driving. He shot Rhett a sideways look. “I don’t want to tell you too much in case you get stuck on it actually happening,” he said. “I’m still a little nervous about the whole thing. I love you and I trust you a lot, but I don’t want to make you a promise that I won’t keep. And I don’t want you to know too many details, in case you pressure me to – ” He stopped himself. “That came out wrong. I know you wouldn’t – but – ”

Rhett put a hand on Link’s knee. “I love you too,” he said, having heard those words in Link’s strange, stunted speech. “Is okay, Link.”

Link looked very relieved. “Thanks, Rhett.”

They had to make one next stop to buy something Link said he had to wear at the beach. This time, Rhett came with him. The store was very crowded. Rhett was growing used to the masses of people that always surrounded them. At first he was afraid, not for himself but for Link. Anyone could hurt him, pressed up so close like this. But Link had said that most people were good, and he had to remember that. 

Some people looked at Rhett funny, but Rhett did notice that he seemed to be very, very tall compared to others, and he figured that was the reason. He wondered if other people were so short because they insisted on spending so much time in their tiny houses. Maybe all the walls around you made your body go smaller. However, many people were also a lot wider than him and Link, and this seemed to contradict that argument. People came in many shapes and sizes and colours. Inside the store, there were pale peach people and dark brown people, some with black hair and some with red and yellow hair, and some with even stranger hair that had other colours in it. Many seemed to have the dark brown hair of Link and others, like the woman who took Link’s money for the clothing, had the lighter sand hair of Rhett. 

“You ready?” Link asked as he took the bag with the clothes. Rhett nodded eagerly and followed him back to the car. “You looked lost in thought for a while,” Link added as he started his car. “What were you thinking about?”

Rhett pondered how to put it into words. “Many things, Link,” he began slowly. “One thing, why am I so big?”

Link stared for a second and then burst out laughing. “I don’t know, Rhett,” he said when his chuckles died down. “I don’t remember your parents being tall.”

“Tall,” Rhett amended. “People all look very different. Not like other animals.”

“I guess not, huh?” Link mused. “It’s not like you can tell the difference between a bunch of coyotes or something.”

Rhett was thinking of all the animals in the desert. All rabbits looked very similar, and all the howling animals did too. Same with the vultures and the mice and the skunks. Was there a reason? Why were people different? He voiced these thoughts to Link. 

“Well, I don’t know too much about evolution, so I can’t give you a super scientific reason,” Link said. “I don’t know exactly why all people are so different-looking, but it doesn’t matter. Some people judge other people based on what colour they are and what they look like, but we’re all just people. It doesn’t matter what we look like. We all have to live together.”

Rhett nodded in agreement. These were smart things to say, he could tell. 

There was another question that bothered him. There were men and women, and they made themselves look separate. Some animals looked separate if they were male or female, but that was just how they were born. The female hawk was much bigger. The male birds were often more colourful. But humans seemed to choose how they looked on the outside, beyond the basic differences that were covered with clothes in public. Rhett could not understand why that meant they had to wear different clothes. Hair was often different, too. Lots of women had long hair like Rhett used to and many men had short hair like Link. There were only a few times where he saw it the other way around. What would happen if what was in your pants was different from what you wanted to wear or how your hair was? And why did it matter if all people wore pants (or ‘skirts’ or ‘dresses’ or ‘shorts’) and nobody knew what was beneath, anyway? Did people judge this, too? 

However, Link had turned on the radio, and the music was good. Rhett decided he would ask Link later. They drove for some time until Link said, “We’re almost there.” 

Rhett felt a tug on his heart as the car crested a hill and allowed him to look out the window and see an endless mass of blue. He gasped and put his face as close to the window as he could. It was beautiful. It was moving. It had white-capped waves like the splashing ripples on his lake, yet they were so big it seemed impossible that they could even be real.

“Link,” he said, awed. “That’s ocean?”

“Yep.” Link giggled at his enthusiasm. “That’s the ocean, Rhett.”

“How big?” Rhett could not see land on the other side. 

“I don’t know exactly,” Link said, “but it’s very big. Bigger than from here out to where your cave was in the desert. Many times bigger than that.”

Rhett gave him an incredulous look. “How?”

“I’ll show you a map of the world later,” Link said. “For now, let’s find a place to park and find a change room, too. We’ll take off these clothes and put on our swim trunks.”

“Okay!” Rhett could not wait. As soon as the car stopped he ripped the seatbelt off and jumped out. “Hurry, Link! Get to ocean.”

“Hang on!” Link turned the car off. “You gotta wait for me. I have your swim trunks here.”

The change rooms were loud and crowded but Rhett endured it for Link’s sake. There were places to put their old clothes that Link got a key to lock it up safe. They walked back into the sun together, toward the ocean that was so huge and so blue. All around was the sound of people shouting and birds screeching and cars going by, but all the while a deeper and more primal sound washed them out. The ocean sounded like the wind moving the desert sand, only magnified by a thousand. The water came rising up to come down hard against the land, then drew back out. It was like the sound of Rhett breathing, in and out, in and out.

“You like it?” Link asked, and Rhett nodded. He had no words, not for this. 

All beside the ocean was sand, like the desert but different. There were no plants or trees or rocks and there were too many people and lots of noise. Still, Rhett loved the feeling of bare feet in the soft hot sand. He wiggled his toes happily, letting the sun warm him. “We can go in water?” he wanted to know.

“We can, but be careful. It’s not like your lake. The waves can knock you around easily. We have to get out past the point where the waves break.”

Rhett could see what he meant. The water came in rolling hills from way out in the sea, and when it got close enough to shore they rolled right over themselves and came crashing down. He could see it in his head – if the land under the water sloped upward, it disrupted the steady pattern of the wave’s movement and caused a disturbance that made the wave grow and grow and eventually collapse. He said as much to Link and got an admiring look in response.

“You’re pretty smart,” Link said. “How’d you know that?”

Rhett shrugged. “Easy,” he said, basking in Link’s obvious admiration.

“Ready for a swim?”

“Yes, please, Link!” Rhett grabbed Link’s hand. Together they walked forward into the water. It felt so good that Rhett broke free and lunged forward, gliding into the water easily, even easier than usual. He floated more easily in the ocean than in the lake. He slipped beneath the first wave easily, laughing when he popped up on the other side and turned to watch the wave keep going toward the shore. Water dripped from his hair. It tasted salty and wasn’t good to drink. Link was struggling to catch up, his pale legs pushing hard against the frothy water. 

“Wait for me, Rhett!” Link called.

The ocean swelled, swelled higher, and Rhett timed his dive perfectly to go to the bottom and let the wave go over him. It was easy. Link was good at it too. Soon he was out as far as Rhett and they were past the rough part. Here, when the water swelled they could jump from the bottom and float gently with the water’s movement. It was so much fun Rhett found himself laughing for no good reason at all. 

Link tired quickly and wanted to go back to the blanket on the sand. Rhett followed him, dripping wet with his hair feeling crunchy from salt. He was happy to towel dry and lay back on the blanket with Link, looking at the way the water gleamed on his mate’s skin. Link had some sort of smelly cream that he insisted on rubbing all over Rhett’s exposed skin, which was fun, but it was more fun when he got to do the same to Link.

“We can lie down in the sun and not get burned,” Link explained, and they did. 

The pulse of the waves seemed to linger in his body, pulling him back and forth. His ears were filled with the sound of rushing water, water so big that Rhett could sense its importance in the world just like the mountains and hills of sands in the desert. Moving, changing, yet eternal. Rhett did not feel as though he belonged in the city, but the ocean was a different matter. He got up from the blanket and tugged on Link’s arm, and together they went back in the water. 

“You’re a fish,” Link said as Rhett easily fought the current that pushed him around. 

“No fish,” Rhett complained, tickling Link’s sides as a swell of a wave pushed them back together. “No eat.”

“Oh, yeah?” Link looked around to make sure they were alone and then grabbed Rhett’s ass beneath the water with a raised eyebrow. Rhett got the joke and laughed along. His mate could be very funny. It was the best part about being human, he decided. Having someone to make you laugh, and making them laugh too.

Life felt good. Life felt right, in the ocean, on the beach, free of walls and barriers and other bad things about the city. Rhett closed his eyes and spread his arms in the water, and for once he did not feel like an outsider. He belonged in this land, in this water, with his strong body to swim. Then Link was there, to put his hands on Rhett, to kiss him and smile at him with white teeth and gentle eyes, and they were together in the big rolling deep, moving with the heartbeat of the world.

**

They went home a few hours later, and Link picked up something called a pizza on the way. It was very delicious, made of bread and cheese and other things on top. Rhett liked it so much that he ate five pieces where Link had three.

After dinner, Link had to do some things on the computer, and so Rhett decided to go outside. Rhett was very fond of Link’s small backyard. He opened the back door and stood blinking in the bright sun, smiling already from the good smell of the outside.

There was grass and a good tree that made lots of shade. Around the edges were wooden walls. Rhett thought the purpose might be to keep out animals, but he did not see many animals in the city. Closer to the house were some wildflowers that Rhett thought were good to look at. Many houses seemed to have special spots for flowers to go. Link did not have these. Rhett wondered if it mattered. The flowers were still pretty, even if Link called them ‘weeds’ when Rhett had first pointed them out. What was the difference between weeds and flowers if they all looked like flowers?

Link also had a small wooden area to walk on that extended from the door and had steps down to the grass. The barbecue he used to cook the fish was there and so was a table and chairs. Link allowed him to take the chairs and put them down on the grass under the tree so he could sit in the shade. When he saw how much Rhett liked sitting in the good outside, hearing the wind make sounds in the tree branches, he bought another chair that allowed Rhett to lean back and stretch his legs out in. It would be good to have no clothes. The wind was nice on bare skin and the sun did not burn fast when filtered through the trees. But Link insisted that he wear clothes outside. 

“Why?” Rhett had asked.

“There are laws against public indecency,” Link had said, looking frazzled. “You can’t be naked where other people can see.”

“If other people don’t want see, why look?”

Link had given him a tired face. Sometimes he did so when Rhett asked a question that he did not know the answer to. “It’s just the law, Rhett.”

 _Law_ meant something that you could not do. If you did, the police would come and you might get locked up in a very small room as punishment. Link showed him a picture of one of the small rooms on the computer at Rhett’s request, and the idea made the big man almost physically sick. The rooms were for people that did things like hurt others but not for food, took things that did not belong to them, or worse. Link said there were other punishments, like fines, where they took money away. Money was what people used to get food and all the other things Link owned. Like clothing and his car.

Rhett understood some of these things but not all of them. It seemed immensely complicated. How were you supposed to know if you’d done something against the law if there were so many bad things? How did the police find out? What if the police were wrong? Rhett asked Link questions until he did not have any more answers and still Rhett was not satisfied. It was very, very stupid to be punished for not wearing clothes. It was a shame, too, because he wanted very much to touch Link outside under the light of the setting sun. They could kiss and hug but not anything else.

Rhett had to wear clothing that looked like the things Link insisted they wear underneath their pants. It was the same thing they were to go in the ocean. _Swim trunks_ , Link called them, and at first Rhett laughed to think of clothing that was meant to go in water with. Even Link took off his clothing to go in the lake and in the shower. But Rhett understood law now and put the trunks on when he wanted to go sit in the lying down chair. He did not have to wear socks or shoes, and that was good enough for him. He could lay down and feel good look at all the sights. The people that lived beside Link had a very interesting thing in their tree. It looked like a tiny house but was filled with bird food. Small birds and squirrels came to eat. Link called it a birdfeeder. This was an idea Rhett wholeheartedly approved of. When he watched the birds and heard them chirping, he could forget about all the noise of the cars and other people. It was the time of baby animals and the small birds had to bring food to their nests. Just like he had done for Link out in his home in the desert. And Link had done the same thing for him here in the city. It was a good feeling.

Sometimes Link joined him. Sometimes Link would make a coffee and sit on the patio or even in the grass and watch the birds with him. Once Rhett had laid on his back in the grass and had Link sit on top of him so they could kiss. It would be good if Link came out this time, too. But today he was alone. Alone was okay. The sun and the wind and the birds kept him company and there were so many things to think about and imagine.

Eventually, Rhett felt his stomach rumble. He thought of the pizza. Was there any left? He stretched his arms over his head and yawned big and then stood up to go back in the house. It was not pleasant to be so boxed in by all the walls but he was growing used to it. 

He found Link in the living room. Link was making a tired face. Rhett saw the lines in his forehead go deeper. There was a voice coming from the little black square he put to his ear. Rhett tilted his head to aim his ear at his mate like the big ears of the fox tilting toward the sound of little mice burrows, but he could not make it out. A man voice, deep and hoarse, not as nice to listen to as his mate was.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Snyder, but I really do need the rest of this week as well,” Link said after listening for a while. “Something came up…A family emergency. I’m not even in the city.” He paused and listened. “No, no grief leave, nobody died…No, of course not. I just think – ” Link rubbed a hand over his face and looked a little angry. “I was _saying_ , I just think that it’s more than reasonable, given that I’ve never so much as taken a sick day off in six years…”

Link’s eyes turned to Rhett, who sensed immediately that his mate wanted to be alone for a few minutes. Rhett slipped silently into the kitchen. He was tense from the confrontation he heard in his mate’s good sweet voice. It was not a fight, and he couldn’t see how the voice in the black square thing could be a danger, but the instinct to protect his mate was very strong. Just like in the _grocery store_ when the bad people had looked angry at Link. It was good that he was bigger than most of the other people around. Some parts of Link were big and strong, like his good shoulders that Rhett liked to nuzzle and bite, but Rhett was unsure if he was as strong as himself.

The machine that Link used to make the dark brown coffee drink had an orange light on. There was some coffee left in the bottom of the pitcher. The smell was both good and bad somehow. A very strong smell. Sometimes Link’s breath smelled like it. Curious and anxious for a distraction Rhett took one of the funny cups with a handle and poured a few inches of coffee in. To this he added the delicious thick white cream. Link had stopped him from drinking the cream straight from the carton before. “You’ll make yourself sick,” he had scolded. Rhett knew what it was to be sick. Sick was when your stomach hurt and your face got sweaty and nasty stuff came rushing out of your throat. Sick was like eating small red berries from the desert that were for birds and not humans. He did not drink the cream anymore but knew from Link that a little splash was okay. Link had put a small bit on a bowl of good dark berries – “Blackberries, Rhett, from the grocery store” – and gave Rhett a spoon to eat it with. It was very, very good. Rhett put some on a spoon and guided it carefully into Link’s mouth so he could have some too.

The coffee was not as bad as Rhett thought. It was funny to drink something hot. If there was a way to make coffee in the desert, it would be very good on the cold nights snuggled up in his cave in his furs.

_My cave…_

Rhett’s chest made a small hurt. He wondered if other animals lived in his cave now. The mountain lion kittens would get big and leave the mother and go out in search of a place to live. A big cave was good territory. The tools and food stores mattered little to Rhett – such things could always be made again or replaced. The important thing was to have a place to be safe in, to sleep in and bring food to. A cave was not like a house to have doors and locks. A cave belonged to the desert, and to the strongest animal to live there. If an animal was not strong any more, other animals took it. 

The only other thing he valued was his fur robe, which Link had put in the tiny room beside his bedroom. A _closet._ His mate thought that Rhett might like to wear it once in a while, but did not seem to understand that it made Rhett sad to do so. Life with Link was very good, but life in the desert was very good as well, and Rhett did not like the feeling of not knowing what to want more. Human life had many questions. When he didn’t have to worry about getting food and keeping warm and keeping safe from predators, there was much time to think and question and doubt. His head felt full of so many things and it was overwhelming.

Link did not have to worry about predator animals. There were very few animals in the city. Link did not have to worry about finding the right food. The grocery store had all the food he needed. Water came out from several places in the house. The beach was great fun and watching movies was interesting. But sometimes Link was sad, and Rhett thought that maybe all humans were sad sometimes to have to live in the city where everything was loud and overwhelming and convenient and the stars were too faint to see properly at night.

Suddenly Rhett wanted very bad to pick up the robe and bury his face in the soft soft fur and smell the desert plants and the smoke from the fire. It was a wanting so hard, his eyes made some water. He blinked it away hastily as he heard Link coming. Link still walked very loudly like he had on the first day Rhett watched him and took him for a predator that wanted to eat him.

“Hey, Rhett.” Link slumped into a chair across from him. “You’re drinking coffee.”

“Not bad drink,” Rhett shrugged. “I try. Link is angry?”

“Just frustrated.” 

Rhett wanted to know that word more. “How?” he asked. It was his favourite question. He didn’t have to know all the big words; he could infer the meaning through Link’s answer.

“I was talking to my boss,” Link grimaced. “I work as an engineer for a company called IBM. I took some time off to be with you.”

“Link say, family. Not in city.” This had confused him. “We are in city?”

“You are as important as family. That part wasn’t a lie. Okay, so I lied about being in LA…but you don’t know my boss. Unless I’m physically unable to get to work he expects me to drop whatever I’m doing and help out. I told him I need a week for important family matters. _He_ just got back from two weeks in Aruba. When’s the last time I had a vacation?” Link shook his head. 

Rhett chewed on this for some time. “Bad person?” 

“In my opinion, yeah. I don’t like the way he plays favourites.”

“Link bigger than boss?”

“I’m a little taller.” Link laughed. “Not bigger. He’s kind of fat.”

“Can fight?”

“I can’t fight my _boss_ , Rhett!” Link seemed amused. “I need to be nice to him, even if he is a jerk.”

“Why?”

“It’s a good job. I make a lot of money. I’m lucky, really. A lot of people would be very grateful to work for such a well-known company.”

Rhett reached across the table and put his hand on Link’s. “But you are…frustrated…with job? Get another job, Link.”

“It’s not that easy. I’ve been looking, casually, but this company pays more than the competition, and it’s pretty much all the same work. There’s no guarantee that my boss would be any nicer if I decided to quit and go somewhere else, and plus, I’d be back at the bottom. I’ve worked for IBM for fifteen years. Seniority counts.”

“Not easy,” Rhett thought out loud, “but good if Link happier. Say to boss, stop being bad person, or I leave.”

The tired look was coming over Link’s face again. “Look, you don’t know what you’re talking about, okay? You have no idea how much this little house costs. You can find bachelor apartments here that cost more than the bigger houses in Buies Creek. I can’t afford to be out of work. Everyone has to put up with some misery at their job. I should be grateful. I shouldn’t even be complaining.” He stood up and crossed the room in big strides to the coffee pot. He made a cup of coffee and sat back down without looking at Rhett. 

Rhett felt sad inside. “I just want Link happy.”

The tired look went away and now Link just looked sad too. “I’m sorry, Rhett. I know. It’s not your fault that you don’t know this stuff. If I want you to know something I should be willing to explain it better.”

 _Sorry_ was a word for when you did something wrong. Rhett stood up and went over to put a hand on Link’s face and run fingers through the dark hair. “Do not have to be sorry,” he told him, and then added, “I love you.”

Those words made the sad face go away and then Link was standing too, hugging Rhett tight around the chest. “I love you too,” he said. “You take my mind off all the things that make me sad.”

“Want to watch movie, Link?” Rhett asked, hoping to help more. “We watch movie on couch, with blanket and cuddles.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Link chose a movie, and together they settled on the couch to watch it. Rhett decided to rub Link’s back to make him relax. He moved his hands over Link’s big shoulders and down his sides, slow firm touches that made Link groan quietly. 

“Good,” Rhett said tenderly when Link moaned again. “Link lay still, let me touch until you feel better.”

Soon all the tension was gone from his body, but Link was no longer watching the TV screen. His eyes were on Rhett, and the look on Link’s face drove Rhett wild.

“You’re amazing, did you know that?” Link asked him softly. “You’re so romantic and caring, and so smart, and handsome…You’re just beginning to learn English, and already you know exactly the right things to say. And what’s more, I know you’re not just trying to get into my pants. You truly care about me.”

“I care lots about Link,” Rhett agreed warmly, feeling happy from the nice things Link said about him. “Link is…” He searched for a word. “Perfect,” he finished.

“Oh, Rhett…” Link pulled him in for a kiss. “How did I get so lucky?”

Rhett kissed him back, soft at first, but increasingly passionate. His hands went down Link’s back again and then he leaned forward to press Link down onto the couch cushions, pinned beneath Rhett’s body. Soon, Link was rubbing himself against Rhett’s thigh as their tongues licked into each other’s mouths. Rhett felt his arousal taking over his body and mind, all his senses overwhelmed by Link’s presence. Sometimes he felt as if he wanted Link to take control of him. Other times it was the other way around. This was one of those other times. There was a desire burning deep inside of him, a desire to take Link in the most intimate way, and he didn’t have an exact idea of what his body wanted but he knew he wanted it very badly. 

Link seemed to feel Rhett’s dominance. He gasped into Rhett’s mouth. When they broke apart, Link was trembling. One smoking look from Rhett made his pretty body go all limp in Rhett’s arms, inflaming Rhett further.

“Come to bedroom, Link,” Rhett commanded, rubbing his hardness against Link’s stomach. “Come, make you feel good.”

Link made a small noise of assent and so Rhett picked him up off the couch and carried him there. Link’s heart was beating wildly in his chest and he clung to Rhett like he was scared of falling, though Rhett could see the excitement in his eyes and feel the hardness between his legs. Rhett was very, very gentle when he laid Link down on the bed. He made kisses all over Link’s face and neck, making soothing noises.

“Link, no scared,” he whispered to his mate. “Love you.”

“I’m not scared,” Link said back, moaning as Rhett sucked on his earlobe. “Just…overwhelmed…”

“Why?” Rhett asked huskily.

“You make me feel things no man has ever made me feel,” Link said. “That sounds like a stupid line from a movie, but it’s true. Gosh, Rhett, I want all of you.”

“All of me?”

Link took the thing from his pocket, the little bottle. He looked at it, and looked at Rhett. There was trust in his eyes, and trepidation, and a lot of longing. “Rhett,” he said slowly. “I really do think I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?” Rhett was lost.

“I can show you,” Link said. His breath was coming so fast. “I can show you how. I know you won’t hurt me.”

“Never hurt Link,” Rhett agreed, wondering what Link was trying to say. “Show me how to make you feel good.”

“If I say no, or tell you that I want you to stop, will you be angry?”

“Never angry.” Rhett would not keep touching Link if Link said no. Why would he want to hurt Link?

“If I change my mind, you won’t be upset?”

“Never,” Rhett said again. 

Link kissed him again. “Okay,” he whispered. “I trust you.” 

Their eyes locked, and then Link’s hands were reaching for Rhett’s pants and Rhett thought he knew what was about to happen. Something inside him knew instinctively what the act of mating was, the thing he had tried to do to Link in the desert that night before he knew better. Link wanted to do it with him, and that was something very special. He would not let Link down. And if Link stopped wanting it, that would be okay too. 

As Link stripped their clothing off, Rhett touched him as tenderly as possible, showing Link his love, his appreciation. As much as Rhett despised the city, his Link was a part of it, and the idea of mating made him forget all the bad things like laws and boundaries. Link made him feel free, even within this prison. By the time they were both naked, Rhett felt as if he had everything he wanted. He felt like he was on the beach of his lake, well-fed and well-rested with the sweet wind in his face and the bare earth on his feet. When they thrust against each other, it was like the rhythm of the ocean. 

The lube Link had bought was slippery stuff that made it possible for Rhett to penetrate the hole that Link had used his tongue on in the shower. Rhett never knew it was a place to bring pleasure, but Link’s actions had made him realize how fun it could be. Link asked him to put some on his fingers and then put the fingers inside his hole.

Rhett was excited to do it. Link opened his legs wide and let Rhett touch him back there, slow and soft, until they were both making deep moans. Link was tight around his finger at first. There was a ring of muscle at the very entrance, but beyond that Link was all soft and wet and roomy enough to fit Rhett’s hardness. As Rhett moved his finger slowly, he felt the ring loosening a little, and realized why Link had asked him to do this first. It would make him be open enough for Rhett’s cock to go inside.

“Put another one in,” Link directed after some time. Rhett did, slowly, admiring the way Link’s body opened up for him and the way Link groaned. Link’s cock twitched and Rhett could not help but lean down and put his mouth on the tip.

This was evidently the right thing to do. Link cried out and his hole seemed to draw Rhett’s fingers deeper inside. Rhett sucked on the head of Link’s cock, happy to taste his mate, and gentle about keeping his fingers moving back and forth. While exploring Link from the inside he felt a little bump, and touching it made Link cry more loudly and push his cock up deeper into Rhett’s mouth. 

“Link?” Rhett asked in a small voice, sliding his fingers free. “Can I…can I do it with my…” He gestured at his manhood. Link looked at it too and swallowed hard.

“Yes,” he said, but when Rhett tried to maneuver himself between Link’s legs he was stopped. “Wait,” Link whispered. “I think it will be easier if I…” He started to get up and Rhett sat back to watch what he was going to do. To his amazement and delight Link got on all fours with his butt facing Rhett, lifted up high in the air, a position that caused Rhett to become even more aroused. Never had he been so hard, so eager. He felt hot and tingly all over as he knelt behind his mate and put more of the lube all over his cock.

“I can go?”

“Yes,” Link said after a beat, and Rhett used one hand to spread Link’s cheeks and used the other to guide himself to the opening.

Link whimpered when Rhett pushed his hardness inside, and Rhett stopped. “Link okay?” he asked, and waited until Link had nodded to continue. Even with all the slippery stuff, it was very tough to get inside. Link was very tight, so good around Rhett’s manhood.

“I’m okay.” Link took very deep breaths and wiggled a little to get more comfortable. The movement made Rhett feel amazing. He gave a small thrust and Link gasped, grabbing at the pillow. 

“Oh, goodness.” Link’s voice was small. “It feels so big, but better than I ever would have thought. It only hurt for a second, and now…” When he shifted his knees he pushed his butt back further onto Rhett’s cock. “Oh!” he breathed.

Rhett pulled out and pushed in, out and in again, the most natural movement in the world. Thinking of the ocean again, he moved his hips in a gentle rolling way. Link moved with him, at first at the same pace, just being pushed forward every time Rhett slid in. After he loosened up, he began to push against the thrusts instead, making Rhett’s cock go deeper inside. Remembering the little bump inside, Rhett used different angles to try and find the good place that would make Link feel especially good. When Link’s voice went high and desperate, he knew he’d found it, and focused on thrusting there.

“Oh, Rhett, yes, more,’ Link begged. “I love this, I love _you_ , baby, oh, goodness, you make me feel so good with that big cock.”

Though he had learned a lot of words, Rhett forgot many of them in this moment. All he knew was Link’s name, and so he said it over and over.

It was pleasure beyond anything Rhett had known before. He gripped Link’s hips tight and rocked into him hard and fast, grunting and sweating, listening to the music of Link’s moans getting higher and higher. Link had said he might change his mind, so Rhett listened for any sign of the word _no_ or the indication that Link wanted to stop, but there was none. They were locked together, loving together, feeling together.

Link’s back was damp with sweat. When Rhett slipped out entirely, an accident caused by their slippery skin, he saw that Link’s hole was wide open for him. When he pushed himself back in where he belonged, Link shuddered and reached beneath himself to stroke his own hardness. Rhett went faster, deeper, rough sounds escaping him too.

“Link,” he choked out, leaning forward to pet Link’s hair. It was such a struggle to speak, but he tried his best. “Link, I want to…I want you first…Tell me how to make you come? Please.”

Link did not hesitate. His voice was a growl. “Pull my hair,” he said roughly. “Go harder and pull on my hair.”

Rhett took the hand that was petting Link and grabbed a handful of dark sweaty hair. He pulled gently and got a moan. He pulled harder, and slammed his hips into Link’s backside faster, and was rewarded with a scream of his name and Link’s hole going tighter around him. Link was coming, spurting white over the sheets below. Rhett released his hair and let his head drop forward, focusing on his own orgasm. It did not take long. If he hadn’t been purposely holding back he could have come within seconds of pushing inside.

“I can feel that,” Link said weakly and with wonder as Rhett thrust deep and came hard. “I feel the warmth…oh, gosh, that’s hot.”

Rhett pulled out when he was done. A trickle of white come followed him. It made him feel proud to know that his come was deep inside of Link’s body.

“I love you,” he told Link, kissing the man’s sweaty face. “Love you,” he repeated as he kissed all over Link’s back too, and once on each buttcheek to hear Link laugh. Rhett cuddled up to the smaller body and smiled, feeling completely at peace and satiated in a way he had never known possible.

Soon Link was asleep, and snoring. Rhett giggled to himself and stood up. He put the blanket on top of his mate. He felt thirsty, and so he went to the kitchen to get water from the pitcher Link kept in the fridge to keep it cold. It felt very good on his throat. All he needed was to make sure the lights were all off like Link always did. Link was his mate and he must take care of him. He left the small light over the sink on, as Link always did, but flicked the rest off.

When he passed by the living room, the TV was still on, and the movie credits were rolling. Rhett went around the room and turned out the lights. It felt a little eerie to stand in the dark room with the glowing box. The city was always quiet in a strange way at night. He could not hear the wind or the howling sounds, but he could always hear a strange rushing noise from the cars. Outside the street had lights on tall poles that made everything glow orange. 

Rhett picked up the remote and tried to turn the TV off. He pressed buttons until something on the screen changed and it flickered over to an old man standing in front of a scene of destruction. It looked like a desert, but not his desert. The screen showed smoking ruins of a building, then a picture of a man lying on the ground, then more people lying on the ground and others huddling around, some crying, some yelling. The old man’s voice spoke words over the picture, in a flat voice Rhett thought was familiar. Sometimes Link watched ‘the weather’ and ‘the news’ where people spoke things that were true. 

What he was watching now was not a movie. It was real.

“…have confirmed twenty dead and at least ninety wounded in the latest attack…”

The man on the ground had red blood spilling out. What had happened? What animal would attack a bunch of humans?

“…officials have caught one suspect and are currently searching for three others involved in Monday’s bombing of a beachside home…”

They showed an image of a person on the screen.

“Twenty-seven year old Matan Bachmann showed no remorse and was quoted as saying that he was a proud nationalist defending his country…”

Rhett sat down on the couch with his mouth open. A person had done all that? How did they make everything go up in fire like that? How did they hurt so many people? Why? Where was this place in the desert where people were crying in the street and others were groaning in pain on stretchers?

The story changed. Now Rhett was watching a very large group of angry people, mostly pale peach like himself, standing together in a big room and yelling things. One person was being punched and kicked and he could not stand up because he was outnumbered. Somebody threw an object at him and it hit him in the head. He ducked his head down and put his hands on where it hit, and the crowd of people yelled louder, almost in glee. The people were proud to hurt the man. It was like as if Rhett had swatted a butterfly and boasted of his strength. It was stupid. 

“A political rally turned violent, in what people are calling a racially motivated attack on twenty-one year old Qadar Misbah of Lansing, Michigan…”

It was not fair to kick the person on the ground when they were so many attackers. Rhett felt himself grow angry. If he was there he would kick and punch the bad people doing the attacking. No matter what the man on the ground had done it was not right to do this to him. It scared Rhett to see how humans acted when a lot of them were together. It seemed as though they fed off each other and grew more frenzied than a red ant hill that was stepped on. 

Rhett felt bad enough to cry. He finally found the button to turn the TV off and crept back to the bedroom with his stomach upset. He crawled in bed beside Link but did not sleep. He stared up at the ceiling, hurting and confused, scared once more about the people that he once was so frightened of. Perhaps he was right all along about people being bad. 

The only thing he knew for sure was that his Link was good. His Link was beautiful and kind. But was he the exception? Were most people bad? How did humans live this way, so full of anger, restricted by some laws, while others disregarded them so blatantly? Even Link had said himself that lots of people judged him for wanting to be with Rhett, who was a man and not a woman. If there were lots of the people like those who had stared angrily at him and Link in the grocery store, would they punch and kick and throw things until they were on the ground hurt and bleeding? And hadn’t Link said today that some people didn’t like others because of what colour they were? The man on the ground had been a darker brown colour, different from the attackers. The man who was caught hurting many people in the desert place was a different colour than the people on the ground bleeding.

And what of himself? He wondered if it was in his own nature to be bad. He was a human too.

What did it mean to be a human? 

Rhett put his face in Link’s neck, loving the smell and closeness of his mate but regretting the decision to come to this bad place with all these questions that made him anxious. He tried hard to sleep, so that the questions would stop attacking him, but it was hard. Even though his body was tired, his brain did not stop.

Link, oblivious, snuggled up to Rhett and smiled faintly in his sleep.


	9. Then and Now

In the morning, Link pattered softly to the bathroom in his bare feet, naked and messy-haired, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. As he walked, he could feel a faint ache in his backside, but the pain had its own kind of sweetness. It didn’t bother him at all. He recalled the incredible connection he’d achieved with Rhett the night before and smiled. It had been so pleasurable for both of them. He was happy to know that he was capable of giving himself to a man he loved, and to know that the gift of his first time had been given to such a worthy partner. _I was his first, too,_ he remembered with pride. They’d have to try it the other way around now that Rhett knew what it meant to make love. If Rhett wanted it, of course.

Rhett was not in the bed any more. No wonder – it was past nine o’clock in the morning and they’d been asleep by eleven PM. Maybe he had tried to make breakfast again. Link brushed his teeth and relieved his bladder, listening for the sound of footsteps from the kitchen. Rhett was that he was absurdly quiet for such a big man. He had a way of walking so lightly that he didn’t even make the floorboards creak in the hallway. Link guessed it was from a life in the wild, constantly hiding from predators and stalking prey.

“Rhett?” he called quietly down the hallway, but nobody was there to answer.

Link was undaunted. Rhett was probably out in the backyard, basking in the gentle morning sun. The man loved to be outside. _Maybe I should buy one of those gazebos. Or a saltwater pool._ Chlorine was out; Rhett couldn’t even stand scented deodorant. Link had decided to buy all unscented laundry products too, to please him. 

If Rhett was outside that meant Link had time to clean. Between his cheeks he felt a little sticky, dried lube and come having left a bit of a mess. He reached behind himself to feel and blushed at the idea that he’d spent the night with Rhett’s seed leaking from him. It must have looked sinful.

_Definitely time for a shower._

He groaned as he turned the tap on and tipped his head forward to aim the stream at his upper back. The water was steaming hot and perfect to relieve the slight ache in his body. As Link washed, he sang to himself, grinning like a fool the entire time. It was silly, but he didn’t care. They had made love last night, and it was something Link himself had initiated and not something he was pressured into or obligated to do. Just when he had almost given up hope that a man could be selfless and understanding and gentle, Rhett had come into his life like a guardian angel. For once he didn’t feel his crippling anxiety or the self-consciousness that had plagued him for years. He was actually excited for the day ahead.

After towelling dry he found some clean clothes to wear – black jeans and a blue henley – and styled his hair with a dab of gel. He expected to find dirty dishes in the sink or some indication that Rhett had attempted to cook, but the kitchen was as he left it the night before. Link took a quick inventory of his fridge and cupboards to get ideas on what to make for breakfast. _I’m even hungrier than usual,_ he thought to himself. _Guess I exerted a little too much energy last night._ He grinned again, remembering how Rhett had started out so slow, then built up to a pounding, animalistic pace. Link now knew what it was like to be taken in the most wonderful way possible. 

The back door was unlocked. From the kitchen window Link could see Rhett, on the patio, reclining in his favourite chair in his swim trunks. The sunlight filtered through the branches of the big oak tree and made a dappled pattern on Rhett’s legs and torso. His hair was brilliant gold, almost amber when the light shone through. Link slipped on a pair of sandals and went out to join him. The late morning air smelled light and fresh.

“Hey, baby.” Link walked up behind the patio chair and bent to wrap his arms around Rhett’s neck. “Did you eat already? Want me to make you something delicious?”

“No eat,” came Rhett’s rather small voice. He shifted away when Link’s lips brushed his beard, but then tilted his head up to receive a kiss on his cheek.

“You didn’t eat? What would you like? I have bagels. We put them in the toaster like bread, and then we put cream cheese on them. The bananas are ripe enough to eat, too.”

Rhett raised one arm listlessly. “Bagels good.”

Link grew concerned. Rhett didn’t sound like himself at all. “Are you feeling okay?” He put a hand to Rhett’s forehead. The skin was warm from the sun, but didn’t feel fevered. “Maybe you should come inside and have some water.”

“Okay, Link. I come.” Rhett stood up and turned around, and when Link looked at his lover’s face he knew something was very wrong.

 _He regrets it_ , was Link’s first thought, hitting him like a punch to the stomach. _He didn’t like it, he’s having second thoughts, he’s upset with me._ “What’s the matter?” he had to ask, dreading the answer. “Are you angry with me?”

“No.” Rhett’s voice was much steadier this time. “Last night, I no…I didn’t…sleep lots.”

“Oh.” That explained the heavy hooded eyes and the sagging posture. Link took a step back. “Was it because you didn’t like…what we did together?”

Rhett’s eyes lost a little bit of their tired glaze. “I liked very much,” he insisted. “We eat bagels now?” 

Link’s mouth was dry. He tried to swallow. Rhett sounded suspiciously like he was dodging the question. _I thought he’d greet me with a hug and a kiss._ “Alright,” was all he could say. “Come inside, baby.”

Rhett sniffed at the bagels before Link cut them in half to toast and nodded his approval. Then he slumped into one of the hard wooden kitchen chairs, his face a careful mask. “Thank you for food, Link,” he said flatly. 

_Maybe he feels like I forced him into it._ Link’s hands slipped on the knife and the blade nearly dragged across the ball of his thumb. He caught himself just in time. The two halves of the bagel fell onto the counter, the cut jagged and messy in his haste. They looked dry and unappealing now. The rumbling in his stomach was gone. Nevertheless, he cut the second bagel and dropped the four halves into the toaster. The red glow of the heating elements reminded him suddenly and sharply of the hellfire and brimstone his step dad used to tell him was waiting for the _queers_ and other sinners in the bowels of the earth. 

Where was his sweet morning after? _Last night was the best night of my life. We should have woken up in each other’s arms, and kissed each other, morning breath and all. It was my first time._ Our _first time._

On the heels of that thought came another: _How was Rhett supposed to know how special the act was, when you were sucking his dick the first night you had him in your house?_

The irony of it could have made him laugh. His first boyfriend had thought him a prude, and Link had hated the casual way the man had treated sex. He had made Link feel foolish for expecting magic and romance and fanfare. Now here he was, jumping into bed with a stranger, giving him a hand job in the middle of the desert, and wondering why he didn’t get some fairy-tale morning after. Furthermore, Rhett was effectively trapped, just as Link had been in the cave. Unaware of his surroundings and how to survive in the environment. The taste of the fear in his throat when Link had thought Rhett had been some crazy kidnapper trying to force something sexual on him was nauseating.

_I should have waited until he was more sure of himself. I should have explained what sex was, what love was, how relationships work. I’ve spoiled everything._

_Maybe you’re overreacting,_ he coached himself. _Just stay calm._

The toaster popped. Link dumped one bagel on each plate and smeared them with the cream cheese. His hands were shaking and he did a poor job.

“Here you go, Rhett!” he tried to say brightly. He could not bring himself to look at the pain on Rhett’s face. He turned and fetched two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with orange juice. “This is real orange juice, too. Remember how you liked the orange?”

Rhett nodded. “Good fruit, sticky to eat.” He only looked at Link for a brief moment before pulling his bagel apart to examine the cream cheese. Then he put the halves back together and began to eat with his tiny, careful bites. 

It was far too quiet. Link sat across from Rhett and sipped from his glass of juice. Its acidic harshness made him wince. Rhett shifted uncomfortably in his wooden chair and pulled at his T-shirt collar like it was strangling him. He looked like he didn’t belong in the small, sterile kitchen. He belonged in some remote cabin, or on some farm, or in a tent in the middle of a vast forest. _Or a cave in the desert._ Link had noticed that Rhett sometimes crept into the closet to rub his face against his handmade fur robe. The longing on his face was almost too much to bear.

 _You brought him here,_ a voice in Link’s head said accusingly. _You did this to him. You seduced him, pleaded with him, yanked him by the arm to get him into your car…_

Rhett licked the cream cheese from the corners of his mouth, his eyes gazing wistfully out the window. He would not look at Link.

 _But I rescued him. Why do I feel guilty?_. 

But what exactly did he rescue Rhett from? A happy life in the desert where he was warm and well-fed? A solitary life of freedom? And what did he have to offer in response? Himself? When Rhett did not know any better, and was taken advantage of?

_He’s a grown man. He can do whatever he wants. He wants to be with you._

_That’s stupid. He can’t walk out on you. He can’t drive, he can’t walk back to the desert, he has no ID or any way of getting a job to support himself. He’s trapped here. You trapped him here._

“Where do you want to go today, Rhett?” Link felt like a doll that talked when a string in its back was pulled. The words came out sounding too forced and formal.

Rhett only shrugged and looked at his plate. His eyebrows seemed more intense than usual. _He’s angry._

“Wanna go to the beach?”

“No beach.”

“Want to watch a movie or a show?” Link gestured at the TV, which was visible from the table. “I could turn it on while we eat.” _To fill this awful silence._

Rhett’s face darkened like a cloud passing across the sun. “No,” he growled suddenly, with such ferocity that Link sucked in a sharp breath.

“I thought…I thought you liked movies,” was all Link could say.

“Stupid TV,” Rhett cast it an almost fearful glance. “Stupid people. I don’t…Don’t want to see.”

Link stared at his plate. He didn’t know what to say. “Okay,” he said. _I’m sorry,_ was on his lips, but then his traitorous attitude got the best of him. “You liked it just fine before. I should have known that last night would change everything. That’s the way it always goes. God knows why I expected anything different from you.”

Rhett looked at him, made a huffing noise and chewed mechanically. “Link eat, do not be angry,” he said, exasperated.

Link chewed ferociously, glaring at Rhett. The bagel tasted like cardboard in his mouth. Somehow, though it seemed to take forever, he got the entire thing down. It sat like a rock in his belly. Too consumed with self-pity, he missed the tear that trickled down Rhett’s cheek as the big man replayed the nightmarish scenes of the news footage he’d accidentally watched the night before. All Link knew was that his inquisitive, cheerful partner was miserable, and the only obvious cause was _regret._

 _He said he loved me,_ a weak voice protested faintly.

_When has anybody ever loved you, especially those who get to know you well?_

Other voices chimed in.

_Get out of my house. You’re no son of mine._

_Why can’t you get it up? Are you gay or what?_

_What’s wrong with you? C’mon, babe, don’t you love me? I don’t get you. Are you seeing someone on the side?_

In his head, Rhett’s smiling green eyes turned stormy, dangerous. Then they filled with fear.

“I have to go.” Link stood up so fast he nearly tripped. Rhett looked at him with alarm.

“Link go where?”

“I just. I have to go, for a walk.”

“I come?”

“No, Rhett.” Hot tears were burning behind his eyelids. “No. I need…I need to think.”

“Link…” Rhett stood up. “I come. Link sad.” 

“I said no!”

The hurt on Rhett’s face made his stomach twist. Link’s throat closed. Leaving his plate and nearly full glass of orange juice on the table, he stumbled to the back door and shoved his feet into his battered sneakers. Rhett made no move to get up as he wrenched the door open and fled across the yard and out the back gate.

**

Two blocks down, Link’s street sprouted a small cul-de-sac where a walking trail cut through. It led up a hill, out towards the Mormon church and a few small ponds, looping lazily through a small wood before doubling back on itself through the residential area.. Link, thinking of a wooden bench well-hidden from the trail and the road, headed in that direction. He scuffed his feet as he walked like a child, and then, ashamed of his immature behaviour, straightened his back and forced the stormy expression off of his face. He turned the corner and waved to an elderly neighbour sitting on her porch, then jaywalked across the boulevard and made his way down to the trail. 

In the light of the day his burst of emotion seemed less significant. Link began to feel the beginnings of shame like a trickle of ice water down his back. So Rhett had been a little grouchy. It was morning, and Link had slept in, and maybe Rhett didn’t want another omelette and didn’t know how to make anything else. It was normal to be cranky in the morning. Link supposed it was even worse for Rhett since he lacked the ability to communicate his emotions as freely.

Link tried to put himself in Rhett’s shoes. His family was dead, the only home he’d ever known was miles and miles away, and all he had was Link. Taking him for little day trips would get boring fast. No wonder he had eschewed the beach, and reacted so strongly against another movie. _He already puts up with a lot for me. I made him change his hair. I made him put on clothes and eat the food that I eat. And he didn’t utter one word of complaint until today._

And how had Link reacted? By acting sullen and running away. _Real smart, Link._

The bench was a sorry thing. The centre plank was missing, and so the seat was just two wooden beams with a gap in the middle. Copious graffiti, scribbles of Sharpie and primitive carvings, covered the back and the armrests. Initials, hearts with initials inside, and curse words. Link brushed the debris off and sat down heavily. The sound of the road close by was muted by the foliage and the silence helped him collect his thoughts. His anger had burned away and all he felt now was numbness. He knew the true cause of his resentment and insecurities, and he knew they had nothing to do with Rhett. 

Max’s face swam before him, his deep brown curls and light brown, almost amber eyes. Thinking of him made Link feel angry all over again, though beneath the old bitterness there was still some remnants of longing. The man hadn’t been without charm. In the beginning Link was so beguiled that he was sure he was in love - that he had found the man he’d spend the rest of his life with. Fresh out of the hell that was his senior year at NC State, where he had returned to the home of his childhood to pick up the last of his belongings to find that his mother had dumped everything into two garbage bags and left them in the driveway. Someone – maybe a neighbour or a family friend – had tossed a Baptist pamphlet on top, either out of a condescending sort of pity or an outright taunt. It had been during the previous school year that he’d made the mistake of pouring his heart out to the girl he’d been going steady with since he was a freshman. Her uncle was a mechanic from Buies Creek, and soon it seemed the whole world knew that Link was gay. Forced out of his dorm room by disgusted former friends, he had rented out a basement bachelor apartment that always smelled musty and leaked in the corners beneath the single small window when it rained. His grades suffered and he was lucky to scrape passing marks to get his degree. Every day he woke up, wishing he could get away, go somewhere where nobody knew his name and nobody cared if he liked men. 

Los Angeles had seemed perfect. So had Max, in the very beginning. Smart, athletic and handsome, Max had a wide circle of friends, leagues of girls wishing that he wasn’t gay, a successful network of business associates, and a family who doted on him and accepted him for who he was. But even the alluring young executive assistant seemed a callow boy next to Rhett.

Recalling the horrors of his past only made him realize how badly he’d overreacted . Link sighed heavily. It was time to straighten himself up, go home, and apologize to Rhett. Then he had to start working on their relationship and the wild man’s knowledge of language, society and the world. Once Link had to go back to work, Rhett would be on his own for long periods of the day and would have to learn how to navigate the city by himself. It was unfair to expect him to lounge in the house like a pretty pet. 

_Five more minutes, and then I’ll start walking back._ Link laced his hands behind his head and leaned back, staring upward at the webbed canopy of branches and the blue sky beyond.

Just then, a very small voice called to him. “Link?”

Link nearly jumped off the bench. He wiped his eyes hurriedly. “Rhett? Rhett, where are you?”

“Here I am.” Rhett stepped nimbly over a log and stopped in front of the bench. He was wearing one of Link’s jackets and the enormous new sneakers Link had ordered for him online. With his keen eyes he surveyed the area as if to search for predators, and then stared at Link with trepidation. “Why Link sit here alone?”

“How did you find me?” Link asked instead, too amazed to dwell on his turmoil for the time being.

“Link make noise. Loud steps. Leave footprints, I follow. I…I do wrong thing?” Rhett looked at his feet. “I scared for Link alone, but Link say _no_. Didn’t know what to do.”

“This is a safe neighbourhood.” _Not that he’d know the difference._ “I’m fine. I…I‘m sorry for just running out on you like that.”

Rhett nodded once. “I sit?”

“Yeah, of course.” Link shuffled aside so that Rhett could sit next to him. The shabby bench sagged noticeably under their combined weight.

For a while they did not speak. A black-capped chickadee called sweetly through the air, and was soon joined by a plainer brown bird who landed on the same branch and enticed the singer to hop closer. The female tilted her head as the first bird sang again. She did not move as the male edged closer. Link felt Rhett’s eyes on him and turned to look the man in the face.

“I have a thing.” Rhett put a hand in his pocket and then extended his arm. When he opened his palm, Link saw that he was holding a small sprig of pale blue forget-me-nots. “For Link.”

Link took the flowers by their stems and slowly brought them to his lap. They grew wild all over his backyard and the parking lot of the church, but that did not make them any less special. “You brought me flowers,” he said out loud, struck by the simple sweetness of the act. “Oh, Rhett…Thank you.” They had no particular smell but Link put his nose in them anyway and smiled.

“I make Link angry and sad.” Rhett blinked hard. “I do this thing. I feel…very bad, Link.”

The sincerity in his voice stabbed Link in the gut. He reached towards the big man instinctively, taking his hand. “Rhett, no, it’s not you. I understand. You have every right to be frustrated. I’m the one who brought you here. Part of being human is that you’re not always happy. In a relationship we should take care of each other when we’re sad. And you have a lot of reasons to be upset.”

“I thought, maybe I…Link say, last night make things change? Did I hurt Link last night? I go too hard?”

“No!” Link’s eyes widened. “Gosh, no, Rhett. You were perfect. Is that what you thought?”

Rhett squirmed. “Not know what to think.”

Link had to scoot his butt closer so he could wrap Rhett in a hug. “I loved what we did last night. But I’m such an anxious person. As soon as I noticed that you were acting differently, I jumped to the worst conclusion. It’s obvious now that we needed to communicate, and we didn’t. I have…I have trust issues, I guess. And self-esteem problems. Not very attractive for a guy who’s almost forty, I know.”

“What is trust issues?”

“I have a hard time convincing myself that people aren’t lying to me. I always worry that nobody likes me.”

Rhett tilted his head and looked very serious. He studied Link’s face for some time. “I tell you, easy to love Link.”

“Not many people in my life have.” It wasn’t an exaggeration. Link supposed that his mother did still love him in a way, but the toxicity of their relationship was too much for Link to handle.

“What people?” Rhett seemed genuinely curious. When Link hesitated, Rhett stood. “Link come walk in sun,” he suggested. “Feel better to talk. Tell me about other people. Then I tell you why I feel sad. Okay?”

Link looked up and nodded quickly. “Sounds fair,” he said.

Together they found the trail and began to walk downhill. Link was surprised that they didn’t come upon any cyclists or people walking their dogs. They had the whole trail to themselves for now. It wasn’t much of a trail, just a gravel path that circled the perimeter of the church and two small ponds before turning around behind a shopping centre with a Walmart and a big gym. The only part that was at all scenic was where they were now, framed by big maple trees and ferns that grew in the gullies and ditches. Soon the foliage thinned and Link felt the blossom of warmth from the sun on his shoulders.

“I had another boyfriend once,” Link began, looking out across the expanse of concrete to the pretty, well-maintained church and its elaborate gardens. “I met him only a few months after I moved to LA from Buies Creek.”

Rhett looked at him quickly. “Long time ago?”

“Years and years ago. I used to see him when I went for lunch at work. He was…very noticeable.” Even now, Link could admit that the man had been very good-looking, although Rhett was in another league entirely. “He worked in a real estate office down the road. I was used to hiding my feelings for men, and so I never dared approach him. I guess he noticed me staring sometimes because he began to smile and nod when he passed by and I did the same. He was bold. He took the first step and started flirting a little. I was scared, and so he took it slow. I thought he was so understanding and sweet.” Link looked at Rhett ruefully. “Eventually it got around to the point of him offering to pick me up for coffee on the weekend. I felt so rebellious saying yes. My step-dad would have hit me. My mom would have cried. But I had escaped from them, and I was on my own, with a cute guy in LA, and I could do whatever I wanted. I got excited. 

“It was so much fun. He made me laugh a lot. He was so cute, too. Brown hair, brown eyes, a bit of stubble, really nice muscles. We had a great time, and then the next thing I knew, we were planning another date for the very next day. He wanted to show me how to surf.” Link stopped, remembering how wonderful it felt, on the beach with a guy who looked at him as if he were something desirable, so different than the hard squinty suspicious looks he used to get in Buies Creek or the disappointed anger of his family when he had timidly mentioned his career ideas. So different from the disgust in the eyes of his former friends, when they’d heard the rumours.

Link bent down to pluck a tall dandelion. With a flick of his thumb he popped the flower clean off. “Everything was wonderful. I had my first kiss with a man. He drove me to a lookout point at night in his pick-up, and we climbed in the back under the stars just like a movie. When I said I wasn’t ready for sex, he told me he didn’t care, and he just touched me a little through my clothes. It was good. I liked him a lot. I thought maybe I was falling in love.

“After a while, though…half a year or so went by and I still didn’t want anything more. Physically, I mean. I liked the dating part a lot. But he started talking about a future and that he wanted to move in here with me. I thought it was a little fast, but then he went off about how he felt all upset that I was being distant. He wondered if I was cheating on him with other guys or just using him as a placeholder until I found someone better. I felt guilty. I mean, I could see his point. Don’t all guys want sex? Maybe there was something wrong with me, I thought, and maybe he’s right to be a little annoyed. Another six months went by and then we’d been together for a whole year. Again, he asked to move in, and it seemed only logical that I agree.” Link threw the dandelion stem as hard as he could. “It was a bad idea.”

Rhett didn’t look angry, only curious. “What his name?”

Link wrinkled his nose. “His real name was Howard, but everyone called him Max. Howard Maxwell Archer. He looked more like a Max than a Howard.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Never physically.” Sometimes Link felt as if he weren’t justified in complaining about Max because the man had never actually laid a finger on him. It was what Max himself said whenever Link protested the verbal abuse. _I’m a great boyfriend, I’ve never hit you and I never would! You’re just dramatic. Worse than a woman, I swear…_ “But he became…different…once he was here. The very first night after he moved in, we were kissing, and then he was trying to undo my pants. We had never gone beyond kissing before. He’d put his hands on me, over my clothing, and I liked it, but I was still nervous. I asked him what he wanted to do and he showed me that he’d brought a condom and lube. I just stared at him. He smiled and started soothing me, saying romantic things. That I was beautiful, that he wanted me, that he’d be gentle. That I’d love it.”

“What did Link do?” Rhett didn’t sound angry or jealous, merely interested in the story.

“I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t even thought about doing that before. I’d only ever been with a woman, when I was in college, and it wasn’t…it wasn’t really what I thought it would be. I didn’t know how to enjoy myself with another guy. It wasn’t something you learned about in rural North Carolina. I thought he’d be understanding, so I told him that I wasn’t into the idea of…having that part of me touched. Not yet. I was attracted to him, though, and I told him I wouldn’t mind using my hand – you know, like we did for each other in the desert.”

Rhett nodded. “Was very good,” he said. “I remember.”

“Well, it wasn’t good enough for him.” Link laughed dryly. “He seemed confused, then he got angry. Asked why I even agreed to live with him if I was going to act like we were still on our first date. Again I thought…I thought maybe he had a point.”

“How?”

“Most adults in relationships have sex. He wasn’t wrong about that. I thought maybe I owed him.”

Rhett digested this slowly. And then: “Link feel the same way about me?”

“What do you mean? Did I touch you because I felt I had to?”

Rhett frowned slightly and nodded.

“No,” Link answered right away. He was very sure about this. “Everything we did, we did because I wanted to do it.”

“Very good,” Rhett said, relieved. “Max bad person. If Link say not to touch, should not touch.” He straightened his back. “If any person touches you when you say no, I fight.”

It was a simple thing to say, but it touched Link nonetheless. He’d never had anyone to tell him that his feelings were valid, someone who was willing to defend him from those who wanted to hurt him. “Thank you. And you didn’t feel pressured by me, right? You know that it’s always your choice whether or not we kiss and touch?”

“I do know.”

“Good.” Link let out a loud breath. It was clear Rhett understood the concept of consent.

“Did Link ever have…sex….with Max, after that?”

“Not in the way we did last night. You were my first. Eventually I started…using my mouth for him.” The first time had been uncomfortable, and he hadn’t enjoyed a second of it. Max had been pawing at him beneath the blankets, his hands too close to his ass for comfort. His erection dug firmly into Link’s groin, where he was half-hard himself. Link had thrown the blankets back and opened the man’s pants, his breath rough and hard as he prepared to bend his head down and take him in. Had he been afraid of Max doing something without his consent? The thought was always in the back of his mind. Max wasn’t as big and strong as Rhett but he was athletic and probably a little stronger than Link. What if one day he decided that he didn’t care that Link didn’t want it? “I didn’t like it very much.”

“Then why do?”

“That’s a good question.” _Because I was alone. Because I felt like I needed him._ “I didn’t want him to get angry at me. I wanted him to love me.”

Rhett looked sad for him. “Did he?”

Link wiped a hand across his face. “No, I don’t think so. I wanted him to so badly that I’d do almost anything. I considered letting him have sex with me, just to make him nice to me again. I didn’t want to be alone. I had just run away from my whole family and everyone I’d ever known, and I needed somebody.”

Rhett stopped and hugged Link hard, right in the middle of the sidewalk. “I want…to hit Max. Stupid man. But better for me, that Max is not your mate.”

Link squeezed back just as hard. “Better for both of us,” he amended, and Rhett smiled.

“Tell me about family,” Rhett continued after a few minutes of silence. 

“I lived with my mom. My dad left when I was young.”

“Some animals do this. Sometimes, the male animal leaves. Other times he brings food to nest, protects the small animals.”

“Human dads are supposed to stay. All my friends had a mom and a dad. I felt like I was the only kid with a step dad in grade school.”

“Step dad?” Rhett was baffled.

“Another man that wanted to be with my mother, and live with us.”

“I see. Link’s family not good? Why leave?”

“It was good for a long time. My mom loved me. When I got a little older, my step dad and my real dad complained that I was a sissy - that means I wasn’t as tough and strong as a lot of the other boys. I was sensitive and got picked on at school and didn’t defend myself.”

“School,” Rhett said. “I remember. Lots of other people. Other small people. I see how Link would be scared. Much different to fight one animal than to fight many.”

“First grade was a lot of fun. That’s where I met you. In Mrs. - ”

“Mrs. Locklear!” Rhett finished excitedly. 

“That’s right, Rhett! It was Mrs. Locklear’s class!”

“Link was favourite person. I remember Link giving me sweet food, in a cup, at lunch time.”

“Pudding?” He’d been a pudding fiend.

“Yes,” Rhett said, laughing a little at the silly-sounding word. “Pudding.”

“But then your dad wanted to move back to California, where you had come from. You moved away in the summer. You stayed long enough to come to my birthday party, though. Later, when I was in my thirties, I looked for you on Facebook. I never forgot about you.”

“I forgot about Link,” Rhett admitted. 

“I understand. You went through something very traumatic.” Link held Rhett’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Your parents loved you,” he told the man. “They were good people.”

“Link remember them?”

“Not well. Your mom was home more often. I stayed at your house for dinner a few times and I remember how kind she was.”

“Did I have a step dad?”

“No. Your mom and dad stayed together, until…” Link realized that he had never shown Rhett the article about the car crash. There was a picture of all four of them over the headline. _How could you forget to show him that?_ “Until they died,” he finished. Rhett knew what death was, and nodded. “You had a brother too. Another baby with the same parents. He was older than you.”

“Cole,” Rhett answered with confidence. “I remember.”

“Do you? Does it make you sad to remember?”

Rhett shook his head. “Is sad,” he said, “but all animals die.”

“That’s a practical way to look at it, I guess.”

“It is only sad that they did not get to know that I was happy in desert,” Rhett confessed.

 _Was happy. He said ‘was’._ “Are you happy here, too?”

“Happy to be with Link. Happy to go to beach and sleep in a bed. But not happy to be in city.”

They stopped. Rhett touched the metal fence that ran the length of the pond. _PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO TRESPASSING._ the sign blared loudly. Rhett traced the shapes with a finger. “What this?”

“It says it’s private property. The pond belongs to somebody.” Link was still trying to consider how he felt about Rhett’s unhappiness. “You used to know how to read words.”

Rhett nodded and traced the R in PRIVATE. 

“That’s the same letter that your name starts with.”

“I think I remember.” Rhett was tall enough to see over the fence. He peered over it, his long neck stretched as far as it would go. “Who pond belongs to?”

“I don’t know.”

“He doesn’t live by pond?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s owned by some company.”

“Nobody there,” Rhett observed. “Why not let others walk by pond? Good flowers.”

“I’ve never seen anybody in there,” Link agreed. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe they should turn it into a city park or something. A dog park would be really good for this area.”

“They?”

Link waved a hand. “City officials, I guess. They could buy the land from whoever owns it, but it would probably take a long time.”

“So many walls,” Rhett reflected, letting his fingers bounce against the metal bars of the fence as they walked along it. “In desert, no walls.”

“They make you sad.” It wasn’t a question.

“I go where I want to, in desert,” Rhett explained. “Nobody there to say no. No _police_.” Rhett had been very intimidated when Link had attempted to explain the judicial system. The thought of many people that could overpower him and take him somewhere to lock him up had made his eyes as round as eggs. “Why people own pond? For fish?”

“Not fish, that’s for sure. I can look it up.” A thought struck him. “I really should be teaching you how to read and use the Internet. It’s not fair that I brought you here without making an effort to teach you how to be human.”

“How to be human,” Rhett repeated thoughtfully. “Link teach words, how to wear clothes, how to make food.”

“That’s not much.”

“I like it very much that Link show me these things,” Rhett insisted. “I wish I could show Link more. How to hunt small animals and catch fish, how to climb tall places. Many good places to show in desert.”

“We’ll visit,” Link promised, but inside he felt hollow. _What if we go and he decides not to come back?_

They walked back down the slope to the sidewalk and turned towards home. Rhett seemed hesitant. Finally, he sad, “I say, I tell Link why I’m sad.”

“You did. If you don’t; want to, that’s okay.”

“I want to. Last night, after…” Rhett smiled. “After sex, Link go to sleep. I know to turn off lights, so I get up. I try to get TV to turn off, but I did something wrong. I saw the news.”

“The news?”

“Like you watch after dinner, with pretty woman talking about fire?”

Link was confused for a second, then remembered when they’d caught the evening news with Diana Watters and watched a segment on the forest fires in Canada. “Oh!” he said with comprehension. “You watched the news?”

“I see bad things. A man talking. Dead people and fires burning. Hurt people yelling. So, so many dead humans. Another human killed them, for no reason. Not to eat. Just to hurt. It was not movie where things happen that are fake.”

“No.” Link knew that Rhett knew the difference. “It was real. I’m not sure what story you saw or where it happened, but I’m sure it was real.”

Rhett went quiet for a long time. They had almost reached Link’s house. “Link…is that what humans do? Is that what happens when humans live in cities?”

Link wanted to say no, to tell Rhett that whatever he’d seen was an exception, that humans were mostly good and kind and peaceful. But he was an honest person. He could not bring himself to lie. The reason he didn’t know what conflict Rhett had seen was because it could have been any number of mass attacks. It could have been in Syria, it could have been in the West Bank. That it hadn’t been in the news Link read on his phone that morning only meant that it probably wasn’t in a North American or European country.

“Link,” Rhett said again, more firmly. “Please say why humans do this?”

“I don’t know, Rhett.” Link was stunned at the realization of just how little he himself knew about his own species. “There are so many reasons. There are lots of wars going on all the time. War is when big groups of people fight and hurt other big groups of people.”

“War,” Rhett repeated in a murmur.

“A lot of the time, it’s about money or the power to control other people. Sometimes it’s about the colour of people’s skin or their religion. Sometimes it’s all of those things.”

‘But those things don’t matter!” Rhett raised his voice. “ _Stupid!_ “

“It is stupid.” Link entered his backyard through the back gate. It had been left slightly ajar. 

“I know why humans do stupid things,” Rhett said, kicking off his shoes and standing firmly in the grass, his toes kneading the earth. “They are frustrated. They have too many rules to follow. They do not have to think about normal things like finding food to eat and finding water to drink and so they sit in small houses surrounded by walls and act like an animal stuck in a corner.”

Link didn’t point out that not all humans lived with access to water and food, but then he realized that was entirely because of unequal wealth distribution and governmental mismanagement. Because of countries like America, where Link could buy cheap clothing made by people who lived in abject poverty and didn’t get fair wages, so that the American company could make a bigger profit. Suddenly, he felt guilty. He watched Rhett in silence for a while as the other man watched the neighbour’s birdfeeder, the lines slowly fading from his stormy face. As one, they began to walk toward the back door together.

Link expected it to be open but Rhett surprised him by producing his house keys. “I’m glad you locked up after yourself,” he said. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” Rhett said in a very rehearsed way. He’d learned the phrase yesterday. Once inside Rhett poured himself water and drank it slowly, not speaking. Link had some too, if only to occupy himself.

“Let’s go out for lunch in a while,” Link said to break the silence. “I don’t feel like cooking.”

“Okay,” Rhett said quietly. He sat down on the sofa and curled up. His green eyes looked tired again. Link sat next to him and stroked the short blonde hair until he closed his eyes like a cat.

“Not all people are bad, Rhett,” he said quietly. “There’s a lot of good in the world, too. You’re very astute, and I agree with a lot of the things you said, but you have to realize that there are almost seven billion people in the world. Of course, some of them are going to be bad. The news that we watch only shows the bad. Try to remember.”

“It hurts to think about so many people being mean to each other,” Rhett confessed quietly. “My head feels like it is too small to think about all these things. Hurts here.” He gestured to his temples.

“You need to sleep,” Link decided. “You need a nap to make up for the sleep you lost last night.”

“Maybe a good idea,” Rhett agreed. “Make hurt in head go away, probably.”

“Would you like an Advil?”

“A what?”

“Medicine to make your head feel better.”

“Okay.”

Link found the bottle in his bathroom cabinet and tipped one pill into Rhett’s outstretched palm. “Don’t chew it at all. Just swallow.”

Rhett took the pill and laid down on the couch again. Link bent over his head and used his index fingers to massage small circles on the man’s temples until he made a low, pleased hum and let his eyes fall shut.

Link kissed his forehead. “I’ll wake you up in a bit when its time for lunch,” he promised.

As Rhett napped Link tried his best to be quiet. Rhett’s hearing was almost supernatural. He made a cup of coffee and retreated into the kitchen with his laptop. The talk they’d had today filled Link with gratitude, and he wanted to search for gift ideas for Rhett. _He needs things to do, to learn and to occupy himself during the day. Things that show him the good that humans are capable of._ Learning to read was a start. Music was another language Rhett ought to learn. For the next hour Link had fun ordering various things that would make Rhett happy. 

Link looked around at the things he owned and the life he had. Why was his home so bland, anyway? He knew he should feel grateful. This is what everyone wanted, wasn’t it? The American Dream. A house and a yard, a job, a good car.

His engineering degree was stuffed somewhere deep in his closet, treated like an old dirty sock. Link had never gotten any real joy out of it, only an exhausted satisfaction that the four years of work had finally paid off.

This wasn’t the life he would have chosen. 

In his head, a quiet voice inquired, _So why are you living it?_

The answer to that was simple. It was the same reason he’d let Max push his head down to his crotch night after night. Link felt it was something he was expected to do, and so he did it, ignoring his own feelings, dismissing them as invalid as he had always been told they were.

Though he did not feel particularly tired, he closed the laptop and sought out Rhett, who was still curled up on the sofa with a throw pillow under his head. It wasn’t easy to fit himself beside the big man, but when Rhett felt his presence he smiled with his eyes closed and shifted back as far as possible to make room. Link pushed his face into Rhett’s chest and laid with him, thinking of his lover’s easy confidence and desire for freedom. He felt a tiny stab of jealousy, like the faintest prick of a cold needle. It was quickly washed away as he made a promise to himself to begin pursuing his own freedom in a way he had never felt able to before.


	10. Into the Thick Of It

_Crouched down low in a thicket of bursage, he observed the dangerous intruders from a safe distance with his legs tensed and ready to run. There were many of them this time, as many as there were fingers on his hand. His heartbeat pumped hard in his ears and his hands felt sweaty despite the cold. He did not wear his fur. He could move more quickly, and more quietly, without it. The spot he’d chosen was well-situated; if chased, he could go to the right and navigate through a dangerous mass of barrel cacti growing in the small rocks among fragrant honeysuckle and desert poppy. If one did not know exactly where each cactus grew, they would step on one or touch it with their foot or leg, and it would be very painful. He could also go to the left and go straight up the hill and then vault down the steep rocks where hopefully they could not follow. And if he went straight back he could run flat-out to the lake and scale the cliff._

_They made noises at each other and made acrid smells of smoke and something that burned his nose. They drank from blue and white containers and tossed the empty ones in the sand along with the plastic rings that held them together. Seeing this made him angry. The garbage hurt the desert animals. Deep breaths made the anger settle. To keep perfectly still he had to be perfectly calm._

_Now and then he tore his eyes away to examine the brush around him for dangerous small animals. The larger ones and the birds and snakes were all gone after the loud moving machine had roared up the highway blaring a booming noise that sent the yipping coyotes fleeing far from their hunting places and frightened birds from their nests. Any smart animal could see that these horrible things were dangerous, and stayed far, far away._

_He should do the same. He should go back to his lake and wait for them to leave. He had wanted to visit the mesquite tree for beans, and the tree that made edible flowers and seeds, and also thorns to hook skin and rip it to make the blood come. That was the reason he stayed and waited. At least, it was the reason he told himself. The truth was that there was much other food to eat. Many other plants, grasshoppers and crickets if he had to, fish in the lake, chuparosa bushes with sweet nectar-rich flowers, palo verde with its seedpods. The truth was that he stayed, as he always did, because the strange beings both repulsed and fascinated him._

_There was something about them. The way they moved, the way they spoke, the way they made a fire without using two sticks and much effort. Why did they come to this part of the desert? They were not collecting food or hunting or swimming or even walking. They sat on the back of the big loud moving thing and made their ugly loud music go louder. His lips drew back from his teeth in an instinctive snarl and he wished he could make himself flatten even further down into the plants. But the bad animals did not look at their surroundings at all. Their big fire would also make them blind to the darkness around them._

_Everything about them was so, so wrong. But still, he watched, and still, he felt both troubled and sad inside._

_A shrew skittered by his left side, wary of the vibrations of the ground but unaware of his own silent presence. He watched it out of the corner of his eye and wondered if the shrew ever had so many feelings inside. Somehow, he thought not. Somehow, he was different. Different even than the smarter creatures like the mountain lion, the eagle, the crow and the fox._

_A familiar night picture played in his head as it had many times before. He felt a glimpse of it, of being in one of those loud moving things and staring at the backs of the heads of two of the bad animals. But the bad animals were not bad at all, not these ones. They knew him and he knew them. When he looked at the fire flickering bright yellow and orange six feet into the sky, he thought he remembered a loud scream. Loud scraping sounds. Fire, so much fire. That same nose-burning stinking sour stench. The smell of blood._

_It was too much. He began to wriggle backward, to make it to the shelter of a tree before he stood up and let himself be seen. But suddenly his limbs felt slow and sticky as tree sap. More panic came when he felt the restriction of a band around his chest and waist – he had to undo the buckle, he had to take the seatbelt off and get out of the car and the flames grew hotter and licked his face and burned the fur over his eyes and at the top of his forehead and then –  
_

He opened his eyes. His cave was dark and strangely muffled, and there was another presence close by. Panic rose in his throat, and then his brain woke up a little more and he remembered that he was in a house with his mate in the city. It didn’t take long to calm himself down. A glance at the clock told him that Link would be awake soon and then it would be time to start the ritual of the daytime. A kiss for Link, and then off to make coffee and food.

It had been many days since Rhett had come to the city. Many days since he’d found his mate in the desert. The time of young animals went away and now it was the time of the hottest sun and the long days, where even the nights back home grew warm enough for Rhett not to need his robe. In the city it was even warmer. The dark roads absorbed the sun. Rhett had noticed that before, watching the air turn shimmery while observing the highway from a distance.

Rhett kissed Link goodbye after breakfast and felt the pang of sadness at his absence, as he always did. Once Link’s car drove away Rhett would go to the backyard where he could watch the car turn right and drive up a ways before disappearing around a corner. When he went back inside, he wanted to do something, and so he decided he would make some pictures. He had to learn how to be human and do human things.

The _pyrography_ kit was a gift from Link. “I know you miss your fires, and you like to draw, and I thought you might like to try this,” his mate had said. The kit had things that looked like pens, the sticks you could write with, but they plugged into a box that made the tips very very hot. There were different tips to make different sorts of strokes. On flat wooden squares, Rhett could burn designs and pictures. Rhett liked the smell and feel of wood very much, and he was also learning his letters. The first thing he ever made was his name and Link’s name with very pretty swoopy letters. Link had liked it so much that he put it on the bedside table in a thing that made it stand upright. The faint smell that was so much like his old fires was deeply relaxing. He made other pictures that were what Link called _abstract_ – long and short strokes and shapes that did not show anything real, but just went the way Rhett’s hand wanted them to.

Music was another gift that Link gave to him. After he put the pyrography kit away, Rhett felt the presence of the walls boxing him in. It disturbed him at times not to see the open sky or feel the breeze on his skin. He went to the computer to make the music come out, to make his heart feel free and light. Every time he tried this he learned more letters and words until he could read some things like Link did. He could read the newspaper Link got in the morning, albeit slowly. He could read the different names of songs and pick the ones he liked best.

He thought he knew what music was, when Link had first explained it. Faint music played in the grocery store and in the mall where he went with Link to buy things he needed like sandals - a very good sort of shoe that left parts of his feet bare, to his approval. And Link played him songs on the radio in the car, simple things where people sang over a variety of sounds. Rhett was fond of what Link called country, and of a man called Tom Petty who had a weird but nice voice and made good noises on a guitar. Link liked to sing the words part in the shower, and sometimes in the car they’d sing together when they found a song they both knew. It made Rhett’s heart glad to hear his own deep voice rising and falling along with his mate’s. 

Some songs were about love, some just about sex, some about other simpler things. The music by the man named Mozart was about everything, of life and of sorrow and happiness and the world around them. Rhett’s body sometimes had to stop working and lay down for a while as he listened. He would have to ask Link for more words to describe what he was hearing. It filled his ears, his heart, his mind, and left him gasping for breath at times and crying at others. It carried him away to other places. Mostly to his desert, but also to the school with Link and the house he lived in with his mom and his dad and the brother named Cole. He remembered sitting in a big place with many other humans on wooden seats and standing up to sing with everyone, all the voices together making one big song. He remembered sitting in a long yellow car filled with small humans like himself, singing about the wheels going around. Back then he’d been a human. What was he now? 

By pushing the buttons on the computer Rhett could choose between songs and stop and start them whenever he wished. There were other people who made this kind of enormous, layered music. There was a person called Verdi who made a song so frightening that Rhett’s heart felt as it was beating as fast as it did the day the mountain lion mother confronted him over a nest of baby rabbits they both wanted to eat. Another was a man named Beethoven, and when Rhett had put on one of his songs (a symphony, Link told him) he had to go out in the backyard after and take deep, deep breaths of the air. Beethoven spoke of fear, of sadness, of love, and of triumph. There were many voices singing a different language in the symphony. Rhett had asked Link which one belonged to Beethoven, but Link told him that Beethoven had been dead for many, many years.

“Think of your entire life,” Link had explained. “You are thirty-eight years old. Beethoven died about two hundred years ago. He figured out how to make the music and other people played what he wrote.”

Rhett was amazed that something could still exist from so long ago. In the desert only the mountains did not change. Everything was temporary. Even his lake could dry up, maybe. Trees fell and died, animals came and went, burrows and nests were there one week and gone the next. Human cities were eternal, it seemed, and so were the things humans made. It made him feel funny to know that somebody from so long ago could speak to him so loudly today. If he was human too, what would he leave behind? Would people two hundred years ahead remember him? Perhaps other humans wondered about these things and cared very much. Rhett cared not at all. Life came in a circle, and when he died his body would be eaten by small animals and turn into part of the ground that would make plants to feed other animals, and then those animals would be eaten too and life would go around and around. Rhett did not fear death. Humans did. Humans put bodies into boxes and buried them in the ground deep down because they did not understand that they could make life again. Link said most people would find it very disrespectful to be eaten by vultures or put in a forest for the bugs.

But the music was very good. Just like Link, humans were very smart in some ways and very dumb in others. There was music in the desert, too, but it was different. Birds sang to their mates, coyotes yipped and howled, the wind made high and low sounds, fire made a crackling, popping beat. When all the noises were put together it was almost like a symphony.

Link told him that he could pick up the computer and bring it outside and listen to the music there, if he liked. He also bought a type of music that was real animal sounds and water sounds and wind sounds. It was hard to decide which Rhett liked best: the sounds of nature or the sounds of the wonderful humans who knew the language of song. Rhett liked to choose different every time.

Link bought him other things too. A whittling kit, with square wooden blocks of many colours and tools to make them into shapes. Rhett had tested it out briefly, but today he put on Haydn and sat down outside to begin carving. As he worked, he hummed and let his mind drift like a leaf on the water.

When Link came home from work, Rhett presented him with a gift. He had whittled a bird out of the soft wood, like the small ones that liked the birdfeeder next door. Rhett liked the way the wood smelled and felt when he chipped away at it, making gouges light or deep depending on the tool and the pressure of his arm. A rough piece of paper with sand stuck to it rubbed sharp edges smooth and left a fine smelling powder on his hands. It was not perfect - he could not figure out how to make the feet, so the bottom was flat so the piece of wood could stand up on its own. But it satisfied him. He wanted to colour it for Link as well, and told him so.

“We’ll get you some paint,” Link smiled, cupping the wooden bird in his hands. Rhett could tell by his eyes how pleased he was. Rhett put his arms around Link’s shoulders and kissed him. The clothes came off right then and there, falling in a pile onto the living room carpet. Rhett felt his mate’s hardness and smelled his arousal. He put a hand around Link’s shaft and stroked, wanting to hear the way Link moaned. It was another kind of music. 

They made it to the bed. Link pushed Rhett down and climbed on top of him, his cock leaving a sticky trail as it skidded across Rhett’s hip. Rhett liked the weight on him, liked to watch the muscles in Link’s arms flex as he held himself up on his elbows over him so they could kiss. He knew Link liked his nipples being touched gently, and so Rhett did that for him as their tongues moved against each other’s. Link tasted of coffee and smelled of soap and faint body odour, a combination of senses that thrummed through his body.

Remembering all that Link had told him about the other man named Max made Rhett more determined than ever to make Link feel as good as possible, as often as he could. It made him angry to know that someone thought he could have Link in such a way and only satisfy himself while Link was sad and not wanting to. To Rhett, sex was more about making Link feel good than making himself come. 

They kept the lube right beside the bed. Rhett wriggled out from under Link and got it from the drawer and placed it on top of the table so he could reach for it when he was ready. Link was already asking for it, lifting his bent legs up to allow Rhett to go between them. Instead of the fingers Link wanted, Rhett dropped to his belly and used his mouth on the big hardness bobbing straight up into the air.

“ _Rhett_ ,” Link gasped, tossing his head back. The lump in his throat went up and down. Rhett put his hands on Link’s thighs and felt them loosening up as he sucked. When Link began to tremble and beg, Rhett pulled off and smiled up at him.

“Link want my mouth here?” he asked, brushing a finger over the entrance of Link’s hole.

“Oh, gosh, yes. Please, please, want it, Rhett. Don’t tease, oh.” Link clutched at Rhett’s hair as he playfully nipped at Link’s thigh. 

Rhett had learned that it was very good to use his teeth softly on different places of Link’s body. His neck, his shoulders, his inner thighs, the small waist. He was careful not to hurt. Instead of biting again, he made a trail of kisses down to the hole. This he licked firmly with his tongue stretched out as far as it could go. “Mmmh,” he sighed, liking the taste of Link. He went back for more, burying his face between his love’s beautiful thighs and moving his head back and forth a little to rub his scratchy beard on the soft skin. This made Link cry out breathlessly. Rhett began to ache for release, but he wanted to hear Link ask for it first. He mimicked the thrusting action of his hardness by plunging his tongue in and out as best as he could.

“Oh, fuck, oh, oh, I can’t - I can’t take it, it feels too good, oh, Rhett, baby, get back up here and put it in already,” Link cried at the ceiling. “God!”

Rhett grinned. “Patience,” he said, as Link said to him whenever their positions were reversed and Link was teasing him by kissing the tip of his cock.

“Screw patience,” Link retorted, groaning as Rhett licked him again. “I want your dick and I want it now.”

“Fingers first.” Rhett pulled away and reached for the lube. “No hurt Link.”

“No,” Link insisted, startling him. “I don’t need fingers. I’m ready. You won’t hurt me.”

Rhett wanted to argue but he was wanted it very badly himself. He looked at Link’s face to make sure he was saying the truth. What he saw in Link’s eyes made him nod and apply the lube directly onto the rigid, aching hardness between his legs.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Link added, more softly.

“How do you want it?” Rhett asked as he always did. “Like this? Link on back, me on top?”

Link considered. “How do _you_ want it?” he asked instead, looking mischievous.

“Me?” Rhett smiled and thought about it. They had done it a few different ways: with Link on hands and knees, with Link flat on his back, and standing up with Link braced against the wall. He wondered how else it could happen. Suddenly he recalled how good it was when Link was on top of him. “Can I lay down, and Link go on top?” he asked. He didn’t know if it would work.

Link’s eyebrows went up. “Really? Yeah…yeah, actually, that sounds pretty hot.”

Rhett promptly fell on the bed and rolled over as the mattress bounced from his weight. “Good Link. Good idea.”

“I’d say so.” Link’s smile was shy and sweet as he straddled Rhett’s hips. He leaned forward and put his hands on Rhett’s shoulders for balance and moved around until he’d gotten Rhett’s slippery cock at just the right place. Rhett made a noise like a whimper. It was already good just watching Link’s face as his hole was rubbed gently with the tip of Rhett’s manhood. 

“Slow, Link,” he said huskily. “Do not make it hurt. Go slow. Hold tight to me.”

“Yeah,” Link whispered back. “I got this. I got you.”

With a whimper of his own Link sank down, taking in Rhett’s cock inch by inch. His hands were wet with sweat as they grabbed harder at Rhett’s shoulders and his mouth fell open. It was a good sight. Rhett was overwhelmed. He groaned as the tight heat squeezed around him. Link had to pause halfway down and breathe deeply a few times. His eyes were squeezed shut. Rhett could not resist lying still while Link’s cock was right there, and so he grabbed for it eagerly. 

“ _Yes,_ “ Link moaned, his hips beginning to make small rolling motions to push up into Rhett’s hand and back down on his cock. “Keep going, yeah, keep your hand on me, yeah, baby, oh, I’m not going to last.”

It didn’t take long for Link to sit all the way down. They both gasped at the pleasurable feelings. Link leaned back and put his hands on Rhett’s legs just above the knee, an angle that made him go even deeper. Rhett growled low in his throat. He wanted to thrust up into him, but behaved himself. Link was still adjusting to the feeling. Slowly, though, he was warming up. The little movements turned into better ones, with Link’s thighs flexing to lift himself up and all the way down. Rhett kept one hand on Link’s hardness and put the other on his hip to help him keep his balance.

Their noises became primal. Link’s face got sweaty and his hair dripped the sweat onto Rhett’s chest. His cock leaked in Rhett’s hand. Rhett was supposed to be the one to help hold Link up, and yet now he was grateful to be pinned down so he wouldn’t somehow fly right up off the bed. It was a funny thought. Link made his head do funny things, especially now, when he was bouncing up and down on his dick.

Finally, finally, Link fell forward, exhausted. His ass twitched demandingly around Rhett’s dick. “Fuck me, Rhett,” he begged, and Rhett let go of his cock and grabbed him around the middle, using him as leverage to start thrusting his hips like mad. Link let out a quavering moan and buried his face in Rhett’s neck, holding on for dear life.

Their new position trapped Link’s cock between their bodies. Rhett could feel it rubbing against his stomach. He thrust up harder, rocking Link’s whole body back and forth. Soon he felt Link about to come, and suddenly the hard rigid flesh against his stomach was spasming, spilling warmth over his skin and down his sides to leak onto the bed. Rhett loved to look down and see his mate’s white stuff all over him.

Link had gone boneless above him, draped over Rhett’s body like a blanket. Rhett did not need much. He focused on the feeling of come on his belly and of Link’s moist breath on his chest and thrust lazily into the loosened silky heat. When he gasped for breath and squeezed his eyes shut, Link knew his release was seconds away. Link put his arms around Rhett’s neck and kissed him on the cheek with a hoarse murmur, “Yeah, Rhett, that’s right, baby, there you go,” and gave him another squeeze with the muscles inside his ass. It did the trick, and Rhett’s body felt like a piece of dry grass tossed in a fire, igniting all at once in a big blossom of heat and light as bright as the sun. 

Rhett felt Link slowly dismount when it was over. “Sleep, Link,” he said with his eyes still closed. His feet felt tingly and his legs felt like he’d walked to the top of the tall mountain and back.

Link giggled at him. “No sleeping. It’s only six-thirty! We need to make some dinner.”

The promise of food woke him enough to raise his head from the pillow. “Mmm.”

“What do you want?”

Rhett thought a moment. They’d shared so many amazing foods together that he no longer could keep track of all his favourites. Plus, his head was still spinning from the amazing sex they had just made. “Salad. Fish. Wine. And McRib.”

Link’s laughter was one of Rhett’s favourite sounds, especially when he laughed so hard that he could not make noise any more. He did so now, and the giggles were contagious. Rhett smiled, then chuckled, then laughed along.

“Why don’t we do salad and fish tonight, and then sometime this week we’ll go out to get you your McRib? I don’t really want to cook and drive out to get food. We still have a little of the wine that you liked. The pinot grigio.”

This made sense. Now that his head was clearing a little, Rhett could see the logic. “Sounds good, Link. You make salad, I make fish.”

“Deal.”

Rhett liked cooking meat very much. Another good thing about the computer was that he could find ways to cook meat by making words on the screen. He wrote down the words he saw under ‘Ingredients’ and gave the list to Link to buy from the store. The one he wanted to try tonight was making a type of fish called tilapia. There were powders and things Link called herbs to go on it, and a sauce to make to pour on top. So far, though Link said he usually did not like fish, he’d eaten everything Rhett had made. This made Rhett feel proud. Link would make what he called the side dishes. The side dishes were usually vegetables, mixed up together with good leaves and a sauce called dressing. 

If they did not feel like cooking, Link would eat cereal, which Rhett did not like, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which Rhett liked a little. Rhett preferred to eat fruit and eggs that went in bubbling hot water until the insides went firm. They could also get pizza or ‘fast food’ which wasn’t really fast because they had to drive in the car to get it. It was best when they made the dinner themselves. Making food was a natural and wonderful thing. Like the music, it took Rhett’s mind off of his discomfort of human life. 

“So what did you do today?” Link asked over bites of the salad. 

“I make pictures with the pyrography pens. I listen to music on the computer. Then I make the bird for Link.” Rhett sipped the wine politely. Wine was not like water to gulp and gulp.

“It’s beautiful. You have a gift.”

“Link made the gift to me.”

“I mean that you have a natural talent. You’re creative.”

“Is a good thing?”

“A very good thing.” Link smiled. “You know, if I didn’t go to school for engineering, I was going to go to film school. My parents didn’t like the idea, but they sure would have liked it better than hairdressing.”

“What is film school?” Rhett was interested. School was something humans had to do before they could get a job. School cost a lot of money, but then you tried to get a job to pay the money for school. It sounded very backward to Rhett - why would you pay money to learn how to make money? - but it was how it worked. 

“Film school would be learning how to make movies,” Link explained.

It sounded more fun than what Link did now, but Rhett thought the hair cutter idea was best. “Why Link not go to film school now? Or hairstyling school?”

“It’s just - well, I’m already pretty old. I’m thirty-eight.”

“How long do humans live?” Rhett asked, casual. It had never occurred to him to find out.

“Oh, gosh…around eighty years, on average.”

Rhett laughed a deep belly laugh. Link had taught him how to count, and he knew how much thirty-eight was to eighty. “Link has so much time.”

Link shifted in his chair like his butt was sore from the hard seat. “I make good money where I am now.”

“Link always say that. Why do you love money so much?”

“I don’t. I need it.”

Rhett chewed a bite of fish for a long time, letting the herbs and spices bounce around on his tongue. “You do many things because you think you have to,” was his judgment. Link did not seem to have an answer for that. Rhett drank more wine and remembered something. “You say, before, you are thirty-seven.”

“I was yesterday.” Link made a playful face.

“That does not make sense. One year is a long time.” Rhett had learned that, too. “If you are thirty-eight today, you cannot be thirty-seven yesterday. Yesterday you were thirty-seven and almost fifty-two weeks.” Rhett showed off the things he knew from the calendar.

“I guess that makes more sense. But we always say that we are the age we turned on our last birthday.”

“Today is the day Link was born?”

“That’s right. I don’t usually pay much attention to it. Nobody’s celebrated my birthday since I was a kid.”

“Celebrate,” Rhett reflected. “What means?”

“Sometimes people treat somebody especially well on their birthday. They give gifts, eat cake, have fun.”

“Link should have told me.” Rhett was excited. “I did give you a gift of the wooden bird, but I would have made more. I do not know cake, but I could learn to make some. I can make words on the computer if I try hard, and find out how.”

Link had set the bird on the table. He touched it now. “This is the best present I’ve ever gotten for my birthday. And you don’t have to make cake. You made this delicious dinner. You know, I’m actually developing a taste for seafood thanks to you.” He ran his finger over the lines Rhett had drawn into the pattern of feathers. “You could probably sell this for money, it’s so good.”

Rhett fought to hide his dismay. “No money,” he protested. “My work. To make me and Link happy. For Link’s birthday.”

“Of course, Rhett.” Link touched his hand and then stood up to bring their plates to the sink. “I didn’t mean that you should do it. I would never sell this. I just meant - maybe you could find work as an artist, or something.”

Rhett did not want to have to whittle. If he did so without wanting to, his hands would not make the right shapes. But he did not say anything else. Link was very caught up in the notion of working for money and they should not argue on the day of Link’s birth because it was special. Instead, he stood up and put his arms around Link from behind to give him a tight hug. 

Later that night, after they’d finished their wine and had a shower, Rhett wanted Link again, to show him how special he was and that he could celebrate a birthday for him. Naked, he went to his mate and took the towel off his waist. Link did not protest. He smiled and led Rhett into the bedroom. Link’s hands were on his back and in his hair. He reached for them, wanting them lower. Link sucked in a sharp breath when his hands were placed on Rhett’s ass.

“Nice,” Link murmured, squeezing him gently. Rhett nodded in full agreement. The very hot water from the shower made him feel loose and as relaxed as he did after a night with a successful hunt and big dinner when the sun was about to come back up and Rhett was ready to sleep. He kissed Link’s soft mouth and licked inside. Link used the hands on Rhett’s ass to pull him close and make their cocks press against each other’s skin. Rhett could tell that Link was taking some time to warm up to full arousal, and there was no hurry. He could kiss with tongue all night if Link wanted. 

It was kisses and nibbles on Link‘s ear that made him go from just touching to wanting more. “Do you want me to be on top again?” his mate asked, grinning.

Rhett thought for a while. Then he went on all fours on the bed, facing away from Link, and put his head down on the pillow and his butt up in the air. It was a position that made him feel small and weak but it also made his throat feel funny in a good way. Enjoying being in a submissive state was new, but fun. His breathing was shallow and fast. “Link can…” Rhett swallowed. “Link can have sex with me, like this? Please?”

“Are you sure?” Link suddenly sounded like he’d been running until the air left his chest. “Gosh, Rhett…”

“Am sure. Want to know what it’s like.”

“Okay,” Link said nervously, and then he swallowed and sounded more sure of himself. “Okay. Yeah. I want it too, Rhett, you have no idea.” His hands went to Rhett’s ass, squeezing two cautious handfuls and pulling him open. Rhett felt the air cool on his hot skin and moaned. Link’s fingers brushed over him, which wasn’t new, but the cold wet feeling of the lube slicking him up sure was. Rhett took deep breaths to relax himself. 

“I’m going to put just one inside,” Link said softly. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Rhett’s hands made fists in the blankets. One finger did not hurt, but it felt very strange. The correct response to strangeness, for animals, was to be defensive. His instincts told him to pull away. The human in him knew what it was to be loved and knew that Link loved him, and so he endured the feeling until he got used to it. Soon it began to feel good. The process repeated itself when Link put in another, and when he got used to _that_ , it felt even better than before. Rhett was a little embarrassed to hear himself whine. “Please Link, please Link, want more.”

“You have no idea how amazing you look,” Link said with awe. He moved his fingers so good. Rhett felt one lightly touch something inside him that felt as good as having his manhood stroked, maybe even better. 

“There, Link, you touched a good place,” he gasped, and Link chuckled and bent his fingers inside until the spot was touched again. Rhett did not know what to do with all the feelings he was having, so he just whimpered and wriggled and finally managed to say, “Link, please, use…put bigger thing in me, right now.”

“You do feel a little more relaxed.” Link’s voice trembled with excitement. “I’ll give you what you want, baby. Just wait. Let me lube up…”

Rhett waited what felt like forever. Finally there was blunt pressure at his hole, thick and wet and hard. Then came a shock of apprehension, and then a slight flare of pain as the pressure gave and Link’s cock slid inside past the tight ring. Rhett fought the urge to jerk away. He could feel the promise of pleasure hovering so close. Link stayed still with just the tip inside, his sweet voice murmuring good words, and Rhett’s body responded to the calming tone. When he was ready for more he pushed backward to get the cock more deeply inside.

“You okay, baby?” Link asked breathlessly, now pressing further in as slowly as he’d entered. “You feel so good…”

“I…am okay.” Rhett made a quiet grunt. Link pushed forward, filling him up more than he would have thought possible. He had complete trust in his mate and was not scared. He wanted to give his body to the man he loved so much, and his determination made him bear through the initial discomfort. Finally, the inward slide stopped, and Rhett felt Link’s balls pressed flush against his ass.

“Tell me.” Link’s fingers scrabbled for purchase on Rhett’s hips, his hands shaky. “Tell me when I can - ”

“Link can go.” Rhett was confident. He felt in touch with his deepest, most primal self, in the loving hands of Link. Link began to pull out, a mildly uncomfortable feeling with a hint of burning pain, but when he went back in he changed his angle and hit the good place inside Rhett’s body that made him forget everything, even his name. He shouted.

“Found it already, huh? I must be good.” Link made another thrust, long and smooth.

And this time there was no pain, only a wonderful friction that built up and up and up. Rhett’s eyes bulged at the good feeling and he shouted again, putting his lips to the pillow so it wouldn’t be a very loud noise. If he had to name one thing that was better than days out in the desert, it would be sex. It was a natural and beautiful thing to do. It was the ultimate expression of life and love.

The ecstasy of being filled up and completed was too much. It felt as good as the first time Link had touched him. Rhett was going to come again. He could feel it. So close, right there, he needed more, he needed – “Link, faster, go fast, go hard, please Link” – to be taken and mated and full of Link’s white stuff to mark him with his smell. Link thrust faster, making the short sharp words called curse words. “Fuck, Rhett, you’re so hot. I can’t believe this, I can’t believe how much you like it. You look so good. You’re perfect, baby, so perfect. So tight around my dick.”

“Yes,” Rhett panted. “Talk more, Link, tell me.”

Link used the palm of his hand to smack his butt cheek lightly, but it was not an attack and Rhett felt it as pleasure, not pain. “Rhett, you have no idea what it looks like, your gorgeous ass held up for me to take, your hips in my hands. I love it. I love _you._ My Rhett, all mine, yeah, you love this, don‘t you?”

The words were like smooth strokes on his cock. How did words feel so good? Rhett rocked back and forth with his knees and thighs and helped Link fuck him hard. The words from Link turned into grunts and loud breaths and Rhett knew the end was close. He closed his eyes and chased his own pleasure. Was it possible to make his white stuff come out without even touching himself? A few more deep thrusts gave him the answer, when his body tightened and his voice got louder and he pushed back firmly against Link to keep him deep inside. Rhett’s orgasm hit him like a big wave in the ocean, tumbling him head over heels, blind and deaf and dumb, drowning beneath a wave of Link. When it was over, he realized that Link’s hardness was going away and he felt full of wetness. Link had come at the same time.

“I love you, Rhett,” Link whispered, his cock slipping free and leaving an emptiness behind. “Love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Rhett said tiredly. “Good birthday for Link.“ He was grinning. He turned over onto his back and welcomed Link on top of him, their bodies damp with sweat. They kissed. Link’s hands went in Rhett’s hair again, touching him so gently and with much love. 

Link was a strong person. Rhett thought that he would make a good mate in the desert. Just the two of them, forever, like some animals that mated for life and took care of each other and their young. Link would not have to pretend to be nice to Mr. Snyder, his boss that was mean, and would not have to get up at a time he didn’t like and come home much later when the good part of the day was gone, looking tired and anxious.

Once, Link had come to his desert and Rhett had rescued him. Then, Link wanted to rescue him. He thought that being in the city and living with other humans would make him happy. Now, Rhett wanted to rescue Link once again. But he did not know how.

Besides his job, Link _liked_ being human. He liked driving in his car and going to McDonalds and eating sugary things. He liked to eat peanut butter, and cereal with milk, and did not eat eggs that hadn’t been turned into omelette. He liked his cell phone and the computer and his soft bed. He did not mind crowds of people or the noise or the brightness and bad smells of cars and garbage.

Rhett liked vast open spaces, the smell of the air, the feeling of the wind on his naked skin, the smooth coldness of the lake as he glided through its waters with his long arms and legs, the only humans far away on the road or flying far overheard in the big machines that Link said could cross the world. He thought Link understood some of why he liked these things, but Rhett wanted him to know more. 

He wondered if Link could feel all of these things and still be the person he wanted to be.

They slept, and then they woke up and the day began again. Link went away to work and Rhett sat down with a book Link had to practice reading the words. Link had promised he could learn almost anything if he could read and write. Rhett was anxious to see if this was true. He wanted to know why humans were the way they were, all over the big world. 

But he was not impressed with the things he learned.

One night, Link found Rhett curled up with his good fur robe in the bed, his eyes looking wistfully at the tiny cactus Link kept in a pot on his windowsill. Link sat down on the bed and held his hand.

“You miss it so much, don’t you?”

By ‘it’ Rhett knew he meant the desert, his cave, his life. Water came into his eyes. It was called crying. He nodded jerkily because his throat felt too thick to speak.

“Why?” Link asked. “I just want to understand. You were all alone, in a harsh environment, you must have gone hungry sometimes and you got hurt, and…and…”

“I do not have the words to tell you,” Rhett said quietly, and Link nodded but looked disappointed.

“That’s okay. Maybe later. I can – ”

Rhett didn’t like to interrupt but he put a hand on Link’s shoulder to stop him from speaking. “I might be able to tell you another way.”

“How?”

Rhett got up from the bed and went to the computer. He gestured for Link to stay. He brought the computer into the bedroom and placed it on the little table where the alarm clock was. “Link listen,” he instructed, and put on a short song by Debussy that was done on a thing called a piano. Its name was in another language, _Deux arabesques_.

“Listen to what life outside of city, away from people, sounds like to me.” Rhett laid down on the bed with Link.

The music began. The first part was soft and slow and dreamy. It reminded Rhett of waking up after a long hot day to the first crimson hints of sunset. The breathtaking feeling of knowing that he was alive and that he was going to go outside into the world with all its possibilities before him. It was the smell of sweetbush and primrose and honeysuckle. It was the feeling of putting a foot slowly into black water that reflected the sky above so perfectly it looked like a mirror in Link’s house, only a thousand times more beautiful. It was the sound of the dazzling, expanding burst of ripples from his toes as they splashed gently, the sound of water droplets tinkling from his wet head when he ducked under and came back up. It was the peace in his heart when he lay on his back and floated under the stars.

Beside him, Link was crying without any noise at all, but he was smiling too.

The second part was more exciting. It was the sound of springtime, the sound of running with long legs pumping and feet landing lightly upon the sand in chase of food. It was the sound of birds finding mates with their songs and dance and the sound of the butterfly in its pretty, haphazard flight around the sprays of colourful flowers. It was how Rhett felt when he chased after fish with his spear and delighted in their creative leaps and darts, and the good pride and satisfaction when he caught them. Link’s hand groped beside him until it had found Rhett’s hand, which he squeezed tight.

“Oh,” Link gasped when the song was done. “Rhett, that was beautiful.”

“That is life,” Rhett said. “That is what life sounds like. Some humans know. Not many, but some.”

“But what about safety? What about - “ Link waved his hand at all the things he owned. “There’s people to love you and take care of you. Medicine and hospitals when you’re sick. No wild animals to hurt you.”

“All these things, humans get with money.” Link had told him so. “Humans don’t care about life. They care about money. You get medicine, not because people love you but because you give them money. And to get money you have to do work all day that you don’t want to do, and if you don’t you get in trouble. And you get sick more often, because you sleep too much or too little and work too long. And wild animals hurt humans less than other humans do. Wild animals hurt because they want food or because they do not want to die. When the scorpion hurt your ankle it was because you almost stepped on him and hurt him. He was scared.”

“Some people like their jobs.” Link ignored the last part. Rhett knew it was because he knew it was true.

“Some,” Rhett allowed, though he knew Link was not part of that some. “But humans have made a life that is not supposed to be. They have forgotten how to be animals.”

“Maybe it’s better to be human. Maybe we’re better than animals.”

Rhett smiled gently to avoid making a face that would show Link how silly that sounded. “Do animals make garbage everywhere and make the air bad with smoke and other things from cars? Do animals have war and murders for fun?”

“No,” Link admitted. “But do animals care about each other? Do animals spend time and money to make life better for other animals? Remember what I told you about church, where people raise money to help people in places that don’t have food or water or medicine? Our church sponsored families who came to this country as refugees. They took their hard-earned money and gave it to strangers, just to do a good thing.”

“Church, the place that tells Link he is a bad person for loving men and not women? The place that told your mom to hate you and make you leave home and come to this place in LA that you do not like?”

Link blinked and did not speak back immediately.

Rhett filled the silence. “Link is good person. I know. I love you. But I do not love humans. There is some good, but a lot of bad.” He smiled. “Link would make a very good animal in the desert or in the mountains. Free.”

“But I am a human. So are you.” Now Link sounded wistful.

“I do not know how to be human,” Rhett confessed. “I do not think I want to know. Maybe once a long time ago, I knew. I do not want to go to a stranger and ask to work for him just to get money.” Link had told him that one day he’d have to get a job or go to school.

“What do you want, Rhett?” Link asked after a long time. “Do you want to live with me here, forever? Or do you want to go back?”

Rhett did not know what he wanted. His silence made Link’s eyes a little wet. “Do not cry,” Rhett quickly said, sitting up to hug Link and make the tears go away. “Do not cry, please.”

“I just thought…I thought you loved me. I thought you’d want to be with me. I thought…if I showed you how much fun it was to be human, you’d change. You’d forget about your old life, and then…”

“I do love you, Link. How can you think that I do not?”

Link made a loud breath. “If you loved me…” He stopped. “No. I won’t say that. That would be shallow and manipulative. I can’t make this choice for you and I can’t pressure you into making the decision that suits _me._ I did this to you, bringing you here and making you leave your home. But I won’t hold you prisoner.”

“I come because I wanted Link,” Rhett said. “Not because I had to.”

“I‘m glad you’re not mad about it.” Link looked thoughtful and sad. “Maybe we can…we can go visit your cave, finally. This weekend.” 

“My cave?” Rhett felt his mouth fall open. “We go together?”

“We should have gone long ago. I’ve been putting it off, because I’m selfish. I’m afraid that if we go, you will not want to come back.”

“I come back with you this time,” Rhett told him. “I promise. I cannot promise to be in this small house forever with Link.”

“I’ll have to learn to accept that,” Link answered shakily. He leaned forward and hugged Rhett very tight. Rhett hugged back, putting his nose in Link’s hair and closing his eyes to let the smell and feel of his mate surround him. When they broke apart Rhett’s eyes went to the small cactus on the windowsill. He could almost taste the liquid held inside the big cactuses and the fruit that the small ones made. 

Link followed where his eyes went. “Three more days, baby. Three more days.”

“I can do it. I can do it, for you.”


	11. Heaven and Hell

Link was warm and cozy, rolled up in his duvet like a burrito. The sun was only just beginning to think of rising above the horizon. There were no lights on in any of the houses around the small crescent where Link’s bungalow stood. Most of his neighbours were early risers, but this was considered early even for the elderly folks who retired to bed just after sunset. 

Link was dreaming about floating in a big green lake, watching gigantic fish caper beneath him. Local fish like salmon and trout swam alongside impossible marine life like blue tangs and angelfish. He stretched his arms out to touch them but they were just out of reach. Though the lake was infinitely deep he could somehow see the bottom. It was covered with flowers, small blue forget-me-nots that drifted with the motion of the water like seaweed. They filled Link’s heart with a deep contentment. He could hear the sounds of cascading water as if the lake was not a lake at all but an enormous river headed toward a waterfall. Link was drifting backward, pulled slowly by the inexorable current. 

_No,_ he thought. _I want to stay here._ Link spread his arms in the water and kicked his legs, but he did not seem to be moving forward. Or was he? It was hard to tell, looking straight down. It seemed the water was growing murky. Had the sun hidden behind a cloud?

In his dream, Link rolled over in the water and winced as he got a blast of sunlight directly in his eyes. In reality, Link rolled onto his back in bed and grunted at the interference of the hall light. Rhett was standing outside the room impatiently. Jerked sharply from his dream, Link came to at once and opened his eyes just enough to see the silhouette of his partner. He closed his eyes again and smiled to himself, full of mischief.

“Up, Link!” Rhett commanded, crossing the room and tapping Link on the shoulder. “Time to stop sleep. It is time to wake up, have shower, make breakfast omelette and leave for the desert. I have been awake for long time, waiting.”

Rhett was naked and freshly showered. His breath smelled of toothpaste and he was even wearing deodorant. Link wanted to laugh at the man’s excitement, but he feigned sleep with all the acting ability he could muster at this ungodly hour. 

They had agreed on leaving at six o’clock sharp to beat the traffic heading out of the city and Rhett had been practically vibrating with excitement all night. Judging by the darkness outside and the fact that his alarm hadn’t gone off yet, Link thought it was probably around five now. He wasn’t concerned about being late. He’d already packed the majority of the things they’d need.

The bed dipped when Rhett climbed on top of the covers and prodded Link’s chest. “Open your eyes, Link! There is much to do. Come make breakfast and have a shower so we can go to the desert park and then to my cave. I must see my home.” 

Link let his head loll lifelessly to the side and kept a straight face, eyes closed and relaxed. The other man was talking about Link’s plans to bring him to the closer, more southern Joshua Tree National Park for a hike over to the Barker Dam and a night of camping nearby. There was a heck of a lot of desert to explore in California, and no reason why they should only visit Rhett’s small territory, so Link had booked a Monday off of work so they could have their own long weekend. They could do one night in Joshua Tree and then head out the next day for Rhett’s cave. Link had done research on scenic hiking trails and had already selected their camp site online based on reviews of where they were least likely to find other campers. He’d never been there himself. Max had gone rock climbing in the area, but Link had always stayed home. He’d stayed home a lot during the fifteen years he’d been in LA. After they began living together, Max lost interest in bringing Link anywhere. The memory lacked the sting it used to have now that he had Rhett.

“Link is lying,” declared Rhett, abandoning his shoulder technique for jiggling Link’s foot. “You are awake already. I will tickle you on the stomach if you do not get up.”

Link’s lip twitched and his muscles tensed in anticipation.

“I saw you move!” Rhett pulled down the blanket to Link’s hips and began to tickle him mercilessly.

Link shrieked and tried to cover himself. The feeling of Rhett’s rough fingertips scrabbling playfully at the exposed strip of skin beneath his shirt hem drove him insane. When he tried to squirm away he discovered just how tightly he was wrapped up in his duvet. He couldn’t move his legs at all. 

Rhett saw this at the same time and gave a deep chuckle at the smaller man’s predicament. “Got you now,” he said in a fake-threatening voice. “Link cannot run.”

“No, no, no!” Link yelped. He grabbed Rhett’s wrist and thrust it away. Rhett laughed and wrestled with him, using his superior weight and strength to easily pin him down and tickle his navel. Link pushed ineffectively at the other man’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Rhett! No more, no more! I’ll get up right now!”

“Yes, more,” Rhett said confidently. “I must make sure you are really awake.” He pushed Link’s shirt up, his eyes full of mischief, but when he saw Link’s bared skin his face changed. Instead of tickling, Rhett began to stroke his hands up and down Link’s chest. His fingers raked through the patch of dark brown hair and then trailed down his stomach, feather-light.

Link’s body was hypersensitive from having been woken up so suddenly. Rhett’s gentle touch felt electric. He shivered as his arms broke out in goose bumps. “That’s…that’s much better.”

“I know how to make you feel good.” Rhett helped Link free his legs from the blanket, then straddled his hips. “I _love_ making you feel good.”

“I thought we had to hurry up and make breakfast?” Link asked, his words dissolving into a gasp as Rhett’s head bent down to caress one of his nipples with his tongue. 

“I change my mind. I can have you for breakfast instead.” Rhett closed his mouth over the nipple and sucked gently.

Link shuddered, moaned, and arched up into Rhett’s touch. His nipples hardened further at the cold when Rhett pulled away with a wet noise and moved upward to kiss Link’s collarbone. His damp hair tickled Link’s nose. Link shimmied down the bed, positioning his face beneath Rhett’s to demand a kiss on the mouth instead. His morning breath couldn’t have been pleasant but Rhett didn’t seem to care. 

As the kiss grew more fervent, Rhett’s hand slipped down to cup Link’s burgeoning erection through the soft cotton of his pyjama pants. He wrapped his fingers around the shaft as best as he could and stroked up and down until Link’s manhood was fully hard and his pants were sporting a damp patch from his leaking tip. Rhett’s thumb swiped over the bit of moisture and Link hissed in frustration at the lack of direct contact.

“You sound like an angry owl,” Rhett said as his hand hovered over the sizeable bulge.

“You’re a tease.” Link tried to wiggle out of his pants. 

“And you sleep too much,” Rhett threw back, laughing as he used his weight to restrain the smaller man. He continued to play with the outline of Link’s cock. “Link should say please if he wants something. It is good manners.”

“Rhett…ah, shit, Rhett, come on…”

“That’s a bad word. Maybe I should take my hand away.”

Link didn’t even think about it. “Please,” he whimpered. “Please, Rhett. Take off my pants and touch me.”

“Touch you with my hand?” 

Link felt his cheeks redden. “Yes…but I’d rather have…I want…”

“Want what?” Rhett squeezed his inner thigh.

“Your mouth. I want your mouth. Please, baby…”

“I thought you would say that.” Rhett’s eyes locked on Link’s as he kissed his way downward, from his lips to his navel, so slowly that it made Link ache. By the time Rhett’s face was between his legs, kissing and nuzzling Link’s package through the layers of fabric, Link had forgotten all about still being tired – and about their upcoming camping trip, for that matter. All he cared about right now was Rhett’s big hands and soft lips and talented tongue, and the way his hair felt when Link had two handfuls of it gripped tight between his fingers. He pulled gently, knowing Rhett’s scalp was sensitive, and was rewarded with an eager whimper. Rhett yanked Link’s pants down to let his cock spring free, and had his lips wrapped around the head before Link could even draw a breath.

“Rhett!” Link’s back arched up off the bed. Rhett pushed him back down and held him in place. The restraint added another layer of pleasure. He was helpless in Rhett’s strong grip, unable to do anything but squirm and moan and endure the mind-blowing pleasure coursing through his body. 

Rhett breathed in deeply through his nose and sank down as far as he could go, then drew off slowly, looking up at Link through golden lashes. His eyes were smug. He knew exactly how talented he was at this and how much Link loved watching him.

“Good, Rhett,” Link praised him breathlessly. “That’s so good, baby, you look so hot like that.”

Rhett’s cheeks hollowed as he sucked harder, eager to please. “Mmmm,” he growled deep in his throat, making his lips vibrate wonderfully. His small pointed tongue flicked at the sensitive spot on the underside of the head. Link had to let go of the man’s hair before he ended up pulling it right out in the throes of ecstasy. 

“Oh, Rhett, I’m close already,” Link moaned. “Gosh, I wish I could make this last longer. Do that again, with your tongue…” 

Rhett pulled off, his small pink lips reddened. He licked a line from the base to the tip and swirled his tongue around the underside of the head again, making a show out of it. His eyes flickered back and forth from Link’s face to the task at hand. The sight was almost too sinful to handle. Rhett knew exactly how Link wanted it and loved to ask questions about what he liked most, what felt the best, what he could do next time to make it even better. Link was shy about asking such direct questions at first but had quickly gotten used to it. With Rhett being such a quick study, it seemed that every intimate moment together was better than the last. 

The warm haze of sleep and the relaxed state of his body made it even easier for Rhett to bring him to climax. As soon as Rhett licked his palm and began to slide it up and down the base of Link’s shaft in time with his bobbing head, Link knew he was done for. He threw his head back, eyes squeezed shut, gasping out a warning before his hips thrust up and his cock spilled its load into Rhett’s waiting throat.

When he was spent, Link’s body went limp. His face was screwed up, his mouth open and closing like a fish as he sucked air. “Oh…goodness…” 

“You make omelette now?” Rhett asked, wiping his mouth primly before leaning down to kiss Link on the lips. 

Link could taste himself on the man’s tongue. He gazed at him stupidly, his mind wiped clean. A breeze from the open window rolled in, cold on his softening spit-slick cock. “Huh? Oh, uh…Yeah, sure. Food. Dinner. I mean, breakfast. Because we’re going somewhere. Need…need protein, and whatever.” 

“Okay. I make omelette instead,” Rhett decided, giving Link’s shoulder a sympathetic pat. 

Link’s brain was still in primal mode. “That can wait. Lay down and let me touch you. Want to suck you.”

“Not now, Link. I took care of myself in the shower,” Rhett announced. “Because I was hard and Link was asleep. Now, Link, get up and go shower too while I make the food.”

“That’s not fair,” Link grumbled, sitting up and eyeing Rhett’s naked body with interest. “I want to return the favour.”

Rhett leaned in close and let Link caress his broad shoulders. His voice dropped to a rough whisper. “Later, Link. When we are outside with no walls around us. I will take you on a blanket in the sand, beside a fire, while we listen to the wind and the sounds of the animals.”

Link had never considered himself especially romantic, but Rhett’s words took his breath away. He could feel himself blushing again. “That sounds…amazing.”

“It will be.” Rhett was confident. “Everything is much better outside. Sex, too.”

Link giggled, then gave an enormous yawn and a long stretch with his arms and legs splayed out across the whole bed. Finally, he collected himself and rolled out of bed with a contented yawn. Rhett let him go through the doorway first, if only to grab a handful of Link’s ass on the way. 

Breakfast was done just as Link was towelling his hair dry. The omelette waiting for him at the table smelled heavenly, as did the pot of fresh-brewed coffee. Rhett loved cheese almost as much as he loved eggs and fish, and they’d had fun at the grocery store picking out new varieties to try. Link couldn’t identify which types were in medley of gooey melted cheeses in the centre of his omelette, but whatever they were, the result was delicious. With food in his stomach, Link’s head began to work normally again. This was earlier than he was accustomed to. On most days he was up at seven-thirty or eight o’ clock. It was slightly disorienting to sip his morning coffee with the black night sky peeking through the slats in the kitchen blinds. The world felt quiet and still, full of anticipation.

Rhett grinned with pride when Link scraped his plate clean. “Good,” he said. “Much energy for long walk today.” The man was still naked, sitting proudly in his chair with his legs spread. Link fought the urge to sit in his lap and demand another round.

“I made a bunch of sandwiches last night too,” he said instead. “Ham and swiss cheese.”

“Much water, much food, and the smelly stuff to keep the sun from hurting?”

“Check and check. You gonna put some clothes on? We’ll never get out of here on time if you keep tempting me like that.”

Rhett grinned and stood, stretching his arms over his head and nearly brushing the ceiling with his fingertips. “I like in the early morning when the blinds are closed and the neighbours cannot see in, so I can have no clothes.”

“I like it too, trust me.”

Rhett winked. “Put sandwiches in cold box, Link. I will be ready in five minutes.”

Link quickly washed the dishes in the sink and wiped the table down, then packed the cooler with the pre-made sandwiches and cold Gatorade. There was more food packed in bags, things that didn’t have to be refrigerated. He did a fast double-check of their backpacks to make sure they had all the supplies they needed, then began to lace up his lightweight Merrell hiking shoes. Rhett was soon by his side, sitting on the shoe bench to pull on his own massive low-top boots. They grinned at each other, giddy at the prospect of the trip that lay ahead of them. Link was eager, but a little nervous as well. He knew Rhett had sworn that he would come back home, Link couldn’t help but fear that their adventure would remind Rhett of all the things he’d loved about his feral life.

“You ready to roll, bo?”

Rhett tied his shoelaces and bounced to his feet like an excited toddler. “Yes!”

“Good.” Link hugged him quickly and together they headed out the door. Link only hoped that he’d leave all of his silly misgivings behind as well.

The sleeping city was beginning to show the first signs of life. Lights flickered on in some of the top windows of homes along Alameda. The first hour of their drive was spent in pleasant silence as both men enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Soon, the city disappeared behind them with a gentle purr of the engine as the road stretched ahead into the blossoming pink and grey glow of dawn. Link turned up the music when Van Halen came on and Rhett grinned, rolling his window down and sticking his arm out to feel the way the wind rushed through his splayed fingers. 

“Look, Link,” he exclaimed as the billboards, car dealerships, and sprawling factories began to give way to open land. “Here comes.”

“We still have a ways to go, baby,” Link replied easily. He put his hand on Rhett’s thigh and gave it a squeeze. He loved how firm and toned Rhett was all over. In his hiking gear, his beard and hair freshly trimmed, Rhett could have been a model for some outdoorsy clothing brand. He looked like any other normal person. The brightening sky reflected off his eyes and turned the mysterious green irises into turquoise jewels. Link had bought him sunglasses, which he’d tried on briefly before declaring that they were no good because he could not see anything.

“How long to big park?” Rhett asked him.

“Two and a half hours.” Link moved his hand higher, unable to resist the firmness and the warmth.

“Link!” Rhett scolded, squirming. “I do not want to get hard in these bad clothes that I cannot take off in the car.”

“Mmm, am I gettin’ you all worked up?” Link kept his eyes on the road but allowed himself to quickly cup Rhett’s package through the man’s jeans. The action was meant to torment Rhett, but it only made Link aware of his own desire.

Rhett moaned and let his head fall back on the headrest. “Link…”

“Yes, Rhett?” Link asked innocently. “You getting a little restless over there?”

Rhett swatted Link’s hand away. “Bad Link, to get me excited in the car where we cannot make love.”

“While we’re driving, at least.” Link tipped him a wink.

They were not in Link’s car but in a rented Ford F-150 pickup. Since Rhett loved sleeping outdoors and scoffed at the idea of a tent, Link thought it would be romantic to find a nice private spot somewhere and toss an air mattress and a few blankets and pillows in the back of the truck. They could fall asleep together, looking up at the stars. After lovemaking, of course. Rhett was very taken with the idea and demanded to know why Link didn’t already have a car ‘with a bed’ on the back.

Link liked the feel of it. It was a smooth and powerful ride. With Rhett’s massive figure beside him, Link felt powerful himself. 

To many people, a weekend hike and overnight camping excursion was a common activity. To Link, it was like Christmas morning. How long had it been since he’d gone for an adventure with a friend? _Too long. Years and years. You turned yourself into a hermit._ Link did not frequent bars, or gamble, or go to the movies, or even to restaurants. It didn’t seem normal to do any of these things without at least one friend. The world was not made for a single friendless man, especially not one with crippling anxiety and self-esteem issues. Rather than face the reality of his sad, lonely existence, Link stayed home night after night, pretending it was all he wanted to do. The last time he’d gone out had been to a bar after work with a couple of coworkers who seemed to want him along only for an extra ear to complain in. Link had agreed to the invitation only because it seemed like a wise idea to maintain a few business contacts. In the early days of their relationship, Link had gone to a number of trendy restaurants with Max. Sometimes they’d even gone mountain biking. Max had offered to bring Link snowboarding, too, but somehow that had never come to fruition. Once they were living together, Max seemed to prefer the company of his old friends. Link would go to bed around eleven and be woken up at midnight by Max climbing into his bed beside him, reeking of beer as he kissed Link’s neck sloppily and whispered meaningless words of love before trying to push Link’s head down to his crotch.

It still amazed him that Rhett was content just to be in his company. He knew Rhett didn’t like sitting still, confined to one place, but as long as Link was next to him he’d be in high spirits.

The truck purred onward, through Redlands and past Yucaipa, the sun fully blazing on Link’s right side as the road turned southeast. Rhett pressed his face to the window and gazed up in wonder at the tall grassy gold-and-green hills that bordered the highway. 

“So close,” he murmured, almost too quietly for Link to hear. “I can smell the good desert over the stink of all these cars.”

“Can you?” Link couldn’t smell anything. “What does it smell like?”

“Home,” Rhett answered simply.

 _Your former home,_ Link wanted to counter, but that wasn’t right. Rhett had spent three decades in the desert and only the last two months in LA. As much as Link wanted Rhett to forget his feral past and embrace civilization, he had to accept that there were some things that he and Rhett would never have in common. Link didn’t like LA either, but he felt safe in his little neighbourhood, knowing he could find help and food and shelter if necessary and have access to whatever he needed. To Rhett, who could use all the natural tools in the desert for the same purposes, the desert felt safe to him. And he couldn’t be blamed for that.

His misgivings must have shown on his face, for Rhett looked over at him and then leaned away from the window and into Link’s shoulder. “Smile, Link,” he said. “You are not at work for three whole days, and you are with me, and we are together.”

“We are,” Link agreed, “and we’ll make the most of our time.”

He changed lanes and veered right off the Yucca Valley exit. The land around them changed, the small hills and open plains turning into larger hills that closed in on them from all sides, dwarfing the truck and the other vehicles on the road and turning them into ants marching in a line. 

“Almost there?” Rhett was hopeful.

“Almost, baby. Less than an hour.”

Rhett lapsed into an eager silence as the line of ants went marching on between the sunbaked rocky hills. Light traffic cut Link’s estimate, and before they knew it they were slowing as they approached the small building where he paid the entrance fee.

“Why pay money?” Rhett asked as Link closed his window and drove on.

“It’s a national park. There’s an entrance fee.” Rhett frowned, so Link elaborated. “The money goes to help maintain the park and the camp sites.”

“Oh.” Rhett nodded his approval. “It’s for a good reason, then. But people should maintain good land anyway, without a reason to make them do it.”

Joshua Tree was a beautiful, sprawling wilderness where the Mojave and Colorado deserts met in a glorious burst of rocky mountains, trees, and scrubland beneath a sky so deeply blue that it almost appeared indigo in contrast with the colour of the rocks below. Rhett’s face was glowing with excitement as they cruised slowly through the grounds. He seemed transfixed by the mountains. Link couldn’t blame him; they were gorgeous. They looked like they’d been painted onto the sky, and were much bigger than the ones near where Rhett had lived.

“Wow,” Rhett breathed.

Link nodded in agreement. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? It‘s so peaceful. I don‘t even see any other cars or people so far.”

“Humans don’t live here?” the big man asked, incredulous. 

“They live close by. There’s a few small towns, and Twentynine Palms - you remember that McDonalds we went to, the first time I drove you home?”

“All people living crowded in a big city together, with so much land right here,” Rhett mused. “Why?”

“Well, a national park is a place where humans have decided to protect nature. Even if they wanted to, people can‘t live inside it.”

“Smart,” was Rhett’s opinion. “Very smart to give the animals the use of the land which is for everybody, because humans take so much and ruin it. Especially land as pretty as this.”

“It sure is pretty,” Link agreed. “I can’t wait to show you other places in the world.” Not that he wanted to go back to North Carolina. Hawaii could be fun, or tropical Florida, since they both liked the beach.

“Nothing can be better than this,” Rhett said firmly.

When he’d seen the pictures Max took of this park, Link thought it looked like an alien wasteland. The funny Dr. Seuss-looking trees that had given the park its name, the random pieces of blackened, twisted driftwood, and the smooth rounded rock formations all looked too strange and surreal. Surely, he’d thought at the time, it would never hold the same beauty for him as the lush verdant foliage of his hometown. Sand and rocks were not as exciting or scenic as the deceptively calm Cape Fear River with its turbulent black waters. But his appreciation for the desert had grown enormously. He was almost inclined to agree with Rhett’s declaration. 

“It’s not my desert, but almost,” Rhett added. “I see same cactuses and many same flowers. Are there good lakes to swim?”

“We’ll see the one where the dam is. The reservoir. But we can’t swim in there. It’s pretty shallow anyway. Sometimes it even dries up completely.”

“Oh.” Rhett was disappointed only for a second before brightening again. “That’s okay because tomorrow we will swim in my lake.”

They drove on, heading to the place where they would be staying the night. Link wanted to make sure it was adequate while there was still time to change camp sites. He’d chosen this one for its proximity to a few hiking trails and the Barker Dam. As it turned out, he needn’t have worried. In twenty minutes they were pulling up to a choice camp site shaded by bushy yucca palms and the park’s signature Joshua trees. 

“We will be sleeping here?” Rhett wanted to know, casting his curious eyes around. 

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“It’s good place, Link.” Rhett unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to give Link a firm hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Link’s heart gave a little thump of happiness at the man’s impulsive and sweet nature. _How can he still make me feel this way just from a kiss?_ he wondered as he opened the car door and stepped out into the fresh, clean air.

They could have hardly chosen a better spot – the surrounding sites were all empty. Joshua Tree was popular from October through May, and so they were well out of season. Still, Link didn’t think they’d be so fortunate. It was far enough off the road to be fairly private even if other campers decided to show up late. A pale sand-coloured rock formation the size of a two-storey building stood between them and the next fire ring. As soon as he was out of the car Rhett took off his shoes and socks and raced up the steeply sloped side of the boulder, limber as a monkey.

“Careful!” Link called, and Rhett’s hearty laugh bounced back at him. Within minutes Rhett was sitting cross-legged at the top, admiring his vantage point.

“I do not see the lake,” he announced. “Which way is it?”

Link consulted his park map and pointed. Rhett stood, impossibly tall on the twenty-foot boulder, and shaded his eyes from the sun as he looked. “I see green, I think,” he reported. “More green in that direction. Green like the plants that grow around the water. We can go?”

“Right away?” Link was amused. Rhett didn’t like to waste time. “I thought maybe we could sit down for a while. Have a beer. Relax.”

“My legs need to move. So do yours.” Rhett hopped down the far side of the boulder. “I would tell Link to climb with me but I would be very worried about you.”

“Hey!” Link shouted indignantly. “I’m not always clumsy, you know.”

“Well, I don’t think you could do this.” Rhett shimmied around an overhang and began to climb up from beneath with only his arms holding his weight. He swung his body back and forth and let himself drop straight down onto the sand, missing the jut of other rocks by a foot. The boastful grin on his face let Link know the feat had been just for him. 

“Pretty cool, man,” Link said appreciatively. “I’ll definitely have to do a little amateur indoor rock climbing to be able to keep up with you in the future.”

“Link will learn fast.” Rhett slipped his feet back into his shoes and picked up his backpack. “Now come walk. There is much to see.” 

Their hike was better than a guided tour. Link had thought that he was the one taking Rhett on a trip, but it felt more like the other way around. Rhett was quick to point out birds and animals that Link would have never seen. A golden eagle soared low overhead. A tiny ground squirrel darted between rocks, bouncing and capering. Link saw hoof prints from bighorn sheep and Rhett could estimate the number of animals in the herd and even describe how to hunt them. He could imitate the barking sound of the roadrunner well enough to make the bird come right up within five feet of them. Lizards hopped around on hot rocks, moving faster than the eye could see, yet Rhett easily caught a tiny speckled specimen with a banded tail under a rock and placed it in Link’s hand gently so he could have a better look. Rhett even discovered a temperamental Gila monster and showed Link from a safe distance while the creature hissed menacingly at them.

By the time they reached the reservoir, Link was sore and sweating, his breath coming hard. Walking in the park was one part walking to two parts climbing and jumping from rock to rock. He wiped a hand across his forehead and lifted the cap off his head to let his damp hair breathe.

Rhett bounded to his side, still full of energy. “Small lake,” he said. “But good to look at.” He swept his arm over the striped rocks that bordered the dam. Little puffs of greenery grew out of every crevice. “These are very pretty.”

Link leaned against the bigger man. “Beautiful,” he agreed breathlessly, although the scenery paled in comparison to the way Rhett looked. He was always handsome, but here he was in his element, and it showed. He was flushed and healthy, his eyes bright beneath the shadow of his hat, the sweat gleaming off the defined muscles of his arms and his posture proud and confident.

“Much more beautiful than anything in the city.” Rhett kissed the top of Link’s head. “Except for you.”

Link hugged him with one arm, pleased. “I wish we could stay here longer,” he thought out loud. “If I hadn’t just taken so much time off work in the spring, maybe I could book off another week…” He trailed off, not wanting Rhett to know how his boss had yelled at him for asking for this coming Monday off. Two days just hadn’t seemed like enough time for Rhett to enjoy the return to his cave. “Well, I guess summer just started,” he finished lamely.

Rhett wanted to explore, and so they climbed further downward nearer the water. The water in the reservoir was at a high level considering the dry weather, blue from a distance when it reflected the sky but a deep brown on closer inspection. Right next to the water revealed murky green shallows. It was deepest towards the dam wall but Link still guessed the bottom was no more than five or six feet away. “We could walk on top of the wall, if we dared,” Link suggested.

“I’d rather stay here, on this nice big flat rock. Lots of room.” Rhett’s voice was suggestive. 

Link raised an eyebrow. “Rhett, you are insatiable.”

“What? I did not say anything, did I?” Rhett rubbed at Link’s shoulder playfully. “It is Link’s mind that is making my words sound like I am wanting something.”

“Yeah, right.” Link brushed a hand over the front of Rhett’s pants and felt what was underneath. “What’s this, then?”

Rhett swatted the hand away, but he was grinning. “Something in my pocket.”

Link’s laugh echoed back at them from across the water. A startled goldfinch took flight. A ripple swept outward from the far corner of the water and Link’s laugh turned into a gasp to see an enormous bighorn sheep bounding away. Together, they watched it escape up the gentler of the two cliffs. It was as graceful of a climber as Rhett.

“You scared him,” Rhett laughed and gave Link’s rear a light smack. “Look at him climb!”

“Why, were you gonna catch him and eat him?”

“Link is welcome to try. Only the small ones are good to catch, or the old and weak. They’re fast. There are no human hunters with guns here where the big animals are?”

“No hunting is allowed here. Besides, I think we have the place to ourselves. There are no people anywhere. Must be too hot for most people. Or we’re just lucky.”

“No people.” Rhett drew in a deep breath. “No people, only me and Link.” 

“Just us,” Link agreed, tugging him closer. “All alone in the desert.”

“The way it should be,” Rhett whispered, his eyes lighting up with passion.

Suddenly Link was being pulled down to sit on the smooth rock, and Rhett was opening his pants for him. The taller man took off his hat so he could get his face close to Link’s crotch.

“But it’s your turn,” Link protested, but weakly. “You just did this in the morning…and besides, I’m all sweaty…”

“Shhh.” Rhett pulled him free and nuzzled at his shaft. “Me first, and then you can do it to me. Look out on the good water and the good mountains and the blue sky and let me make you feel good again.”

Rhett’s wet mouth wrapped around the head of Link’s cock for the second time that day. “Yeah,” Link groaned. “Yeah, okay, this was a good idea.” _How did I get so lucky?_ He tried to look out over the lake and absorb the feeling of being in the middle of nature as Rhett had instructed but it was impossible to look at anything but the sight of the gorgeous man spread out before him. 

Rhett shifted himself so that he was lying down on the boulder with his feet pointed toward the water. He leaned the weight of his upper body on his forearms, which were braced on Link’s legs, to avoid having to prop his elbows on the unforgiving surface of the rock. This made it difficult for him to use his hands. This didn’t seem to bother him. He gripped Link’s thighs instead for balance and bent his head forward, using only his mouth to bring Link pleasure.

Link moaned as the blond head bobbed in his lap. It _was_ better to make love out in the open, just as Rhett had promised. “You look so good,” he murmured, brushing Rhett’s hair from his forehead. “Nice and slow, just like that, okay?”

“Is hard to move,” Rhett confessed as he pulled off. “This will be better with a blanket on the ground.”

“If you brace yourself with your hands, I could…I could do all the moving while you just held your head still.” Link bit his lip. 

Rhett’s eyes blazed. “Yes. Yes, do it.”

Link held Rhett’s head gently with one hand and slipped himself back between the man’s lips. He was gentle at first, cautious of choking his lover or being too forceful. When Rhett began to make muffled moans, his eyes rolling back in his head, Link stopped holding back. _Oh, gosh, he actually likes this._ The fire in his groin grew unbearably hot and he fucked up into the soft wetness over and over. Rhett kept his lips tight and his throat relaxed and Link pushed down his throat once, twice, and then one last time as he crested the peak of his pleasure.

He came with a wordless gasp, hips bucking weakly. Rhett’s lips trembled and squeezed more tightly as he struggled to swallow with Link’s length pressing his tongue down. Some of the liquid escaped and trickled out of the side of his mouth. Link whimpered at the intensity of the suction as his orgasm subsided, but Rhett was determined to milk every last drop from him. 

“ _Wow_ , Rhett.” Link tugged his underwear back into place and re-buttoned his jeans. “You…you get better every time.” The air seemed too thin. He struggled to catch his bread. His seed glistened on Rhett’s lips and chin and the carnality of it made him groan feebly.

The big man sat back on his heels and licked his lips, then wiped his chin with a finger. He licked the digit clean with his eyes sparkling with lust. “Did you like that a lot, Link?” he asked, his voice raw. “I liked feeling like you were in control of me.”

“It was incredible.” Link caressed his cheek and stroked his beard. “I know that feeling and I like it too. I love that you trust me enough to give me control.”

“It is like the first time I touched you, on the shore of my lake. Nature all around us.”

“I remember that night.” Link cupped Rhett’s chin, bringing him in for a kiss. “I remember how I couldn’t stop looking at you. How you got hard for me, standing in the water. How your big cock was rubbing against me until I had to have you even though you barely spoke English.”

“It was a good time. And the first time I saw your house and got in your bed, that was just as good.” 

Link saw that Rhett had already unbuttoned his pants and had his cock out, hard and red and ready. Though he’d just come, the sight sent a jolt through him. “I bet this will be even better.” 

“Oh yeah?” Rhett gave him a look both challenging and lustful.

“Yeah,” Link bent his head low and breathed hot moist air over the tip. “Let me prove it.”

Rhett stroked a hand up and down his length, pulling his foreskin back to present the sensitive head for Link to kiss and lick. “Slow, Link. Slow, with lots of tongue. And look at me.”

“Whatever you want, baby.” Link looked up at Rhett and blinked coquettishly as he extended his tongue and flicked it lightly against the man’s shaft. With his thumb and ring finger Link held the base of Rhett’s cock firmly to keep it in place as he began to trace the veins with his tongue. It only took thirty seconds for Rhett to begin trying to get Link to take it into his mouth. Feeling wicked, Link evaded him.

“Link, please!” Rhett groaned after a while. “Please, I want you to suck me.”

“You said slow,” Link reminded him, grinning evilly. “I’m just givin’ you what you asked for.” He closed his whole hand around Rhett’s cock and held his mouth a hair’s width away as he stroked firmly. The head just barely brushed his lips on every upstroke. As ordered, Link kept his eyes on Rhett’s. 

“Now who is a tease?” Rhett grumbled after some time enduring the torture. His cheeks and ears were red and his lips were parted. 

“I am.” Link kissed away the drop of pre-come at the tip and made sure Rhett was watching as he licked the shiny fluid from his lips. “And you love it.”

“Please, Link, please, I beg you, I - _oh._ Oh, oh, Link, yes, more of that, that is what I want.” 

Link tried to chuckle with a mouthful of cock. He tried to go all the way down and couldn’t, but his efforts were well-appreciated. Rhett stroked his hair as Link bobbed his head up and down, his tongue swirling expertly. When he drew off he increased the suction so that his mouth left the tip with a wet pop.

Rhett groaned. “No, don’t stop, Link.” 

“This is for not letting me do this in the morning. I’m going to take my sweet time with you. I want to hear you beg some more.” Link felt so powerful and feral, as if he too were some wild creature of the desert. He rubbed Rhett‘s inner thighs, raked fingers through the thatch of dark blond curls, and gently cupped the heavy sack, touching everything but where Rhett needed it most. “You sound so cute when you’re frustrated.”

“It’s like…a punishment?” Rhett looked intrigued. “Like a good punishment, but also bad, but in a good way.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s exactly what this is.” Link let go of Rhett’s dick entirely and rubbed his cheek along the shaft. “I’m bein’ cruel, I know. Maybe later tonight you can pay me back.”

“Pay you back?”

“For bein’ a tease. Maybe you’ll have to punish me later.” Link tried to trace letters in cursive with the tip of his tongue on the rigid flesh.

“How…how will I do that?” Rhett sounded dazed. His voice was thick and rough.

“Well…” Link suckled at the tip again without taking him fully in, as if Rhett’s manhood was an ice cream cone. “You have a lot of time to think about it, don’t you?”

Rhett’s chest heaved and he let out a whimper. His cock was so hard that it looked painful. The man’s huge body began to tremble. “Please…”

Link finally took pity. He wrapped his hand firmly around the base and bent his head low, moving his tongue and head and hand in perfect sync. Finding a rhythm was easy. A gentle breeze filled the air with the sound of rustling leaves, the sound mingling with Rhett’s gasping breaths. Even with his eyes closed he could feel the lack of walls around him, the sense of freedom increasing his enjoyment of giving Rhett his pleasure. 

The hot rush of thick come in his mouth was a surprise. Rhett had given him no warning but a low cry as his cock swelled and flexed. There was a lot of it, more than usual, filling his mouth so much that he had to swallow twice to get it down. The taste was more intense than usual. Link swallowed once more and pulled off, panting.

“I am sorry,” Rhett said hurriedly, hugging Link tight. He reached for his backpack and handed Link a bottle of water. “I did not warn you that I was going to come.”

“It’s okay.” Link took a long gulp from the bottle and kissed Rhett’s bearded cheek. “You were really worked up, huh?”

“I was thinking about things to do to Link later,” Rhett admitted. “I was very excited.”

“Oh? And what are you gonna do to me?”

“Well, Link,” Rhett gave him a predatory grin. “You will find out.”

**

They took the long trail around the dam, walking hand-in-hand and admiring the scenery and their privacy. It was around five PM when they returned to the camp site, sated and sweaty and messy-haired and very, very hungry. They’d eaten beef jerky, trail mix and energy bars for lunch. For dinner they planned to break out the outdoor grill and try out the sausage and artisan hot dog buns covered with the leftover chilli from last night’s dinner. Link had made it while Rhett supervised and chopped up the veggies so Link wouldn’t have to use the sharp knife. 

At the present moment, however, exhaustion won out over hunger. Link unfolded the canvas chairs he’d brought and erected their huge beach umbrella for shade. Rhett just threw a blanket on the ground, stripped off his shirt and pants, and collapsed on his back. “Mmm,” he groaned. “Still hot in the shade. I cannot wait for sun to go down. The desert is much better at night, but now that I sleep all night, I feel like I could not switch to sleeping in the day again.”

“It is hot,” Link agreed. “Probably got up to a hundred when we were out by the dam.”

“A hundred what?”

“Degrees. Units to measure temperature, to know how hot or cold it is outside.”

“Oh.” Rhett wriggled around to get more comfortable and folded his arms above his head. “It is so hot that I can almost not nap.”

“I can’t say the same.” Link gave a yawn and sank down lower in the chair. “Man, I’m beat. I should probably go to the gym more and get in shape. I really do think I’m gonna conk out right here.”

He heard Rhett’s deep chuckle, and then his big palms were on Link’s shoulders, kneading out the soreness and tension. Link felt like his body was melting like butter under the touch. The chair wasn’t comfortable but he didn‘t mind. The air was so warm and thick, the clean smell of the air was so refreshing and relaxing. He felt like he was sinking slowly. Caught in quicksand. Descending down, down, down, into the dark, as softly as a leaf falling onto the surface of a lake with the infinite blackness below. The world around him faded away, and Link - 

_could not bring himself to drive down the road and turn the corner to confront the house of his childhood, no matter how many times he yelled at himself to man up and just do it. Part of him was engulfed by a stupid fantasy where his mother would be waiting on the porch with a warm smile like she did when he was in elementary school. She had not been at commencement and had not seen his framed degree. He held it under his arm now. Engineer…he didn’t want to be an engineer. He’d felt ridiculous standing amongst his fellow graduates, feeling hollow where the rest of them were happy. Four years and endless hard work, and it still felt like he was pretending to be something he wasn’t and would never be. But it was manly, it was the right thing to do for a smart young man, all his teachers had agreed. And hairstyling was for women and queers. When his mother saw the degree under his arm, maybe her face would light up as it had when he was little and had brought home tests where he’d gotten an A. Maybe she would tell him that it was okay for him to be who he was, that it was okay if he didn’t get married and have kids. Maybe the blinds wouldn’t be drawn and the door wouldn’t be locked, and the garbage bag in the driveway was really just a forgotten garbage bag and all of his old things were still in his bedroom waiting for him. Maybe he’d be good enough to matter to the one person who was supposed to love him more than anything else in the world. Maybe he still belonged._

_With two fingers he felt the sore spot beneath his eye, where John Delsnyder had punched him just outside his own dorm for sleeping in the same room as him for three years while being a faggot the entire time. John had helped him catch up after he’d been sick for a week in sophomore year. He’d lent Link his notes for the classes they shared and even took the time to re-write some parts when his cursive had grown too sloppy to be legible. He invited Link out to his aunt’s house in Myrtle Beach for Spring Break. He was the first good friend Link had since middle school. When Link looked in the mirror the next day he saw that his face now sported a crescent-shaped purple bruise that everyone could see. Just like -_

_\- the red suck mark on his neck and the faint irritation of beard burn there, a strangely pleasant feeling that made him both anxious and disgusting. It was sinful to let a man touch him. God would strike him down, as he had rained fire and destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah. He’d let Max take him into the backseat of his silver Audi A4, half-expecting lightning to strike them both. Link had expected some pretty heavy petting, but was not prepared for Max to unzip his pants and pull his cock out after a few minutes of kissing. Link wanted to touch it, and knowing that he wanted it made him feel dirty and cheap. True desire was not something he‘d ever experienced firsthand and it frightened him to feel his head grow cloudy with lust like he was drunk. ‘No,’ he’d said, his hands shaking. ‘No, hey, this is way too fast…’_

_Max sat back, frowning. ‘Why did you let me drive you up here, then?’ But his face cleared when Link’s crumbled, and his tone turned soothing. ‘Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.’_

_I want it. I do want you. I do. Link tried to say the words and couldn’t. It wasn’t like the absolute lack of interest he’d felt towards women all his life; it was more like he was holding a beautiful snow globe with a tiny perfect world inside. Link could peer through the glass but he would never get inside. He didn’t belong in LA any more than he’d belonged in Buies Creek. Not like Max, who lived in West Hollywood and ate kale and quinoa at fancy restaurants during the day and went to real gay bars at night. But if he didn’t belong here and he didn’t belong in North Carolina, what was he supposed to do?_

_Time sped up, and then Link was in the passenger seat, being driven home. His gut was churning as he stared out at the quaint houses and shops and sidewalks full of happy, normal people. Max pulled into his driveway and walked him to the door._

_Link, incapable of being loved, too gay to be normal, not gay enough to satisfy another man, and utterly confused about his mixed feelings for Max, stood in his own doorway and watched as Max turned to leave. Suddenly, rashly, Link invited the man inside. Max took off his hat and shook out his curls. Then he ran a finger over the edge of the wooden frame of the degree Link had hung absently in his living room for lack of any other decorations. His house was stale and boring and embarrassing. Link found he could not meet the man’s eyes for very long. Why was this handsome man here with him? What could he possibly want with someone so boring?_

_Max’s face turned into Rhett’s, his smile warm and bright and genuine. Link’s fears melted away. He let Rhett tumble him backward and then they were on his bed, kissing, rutting, making love until Link fell asleep with Rhett’s warm seed trickling down his thigh._ Yes _, he thought,_ yes, this is where I belong, this is what I want, please don’t let this feeling end. I love him. I love him so much. __

_Link thought he opened his eyes for real. He was in his own bed. They hadn’t left for the desert yet. When he felt the mattress beside him, he could still feel the warmth from where Rhett had been sleeping. He sat up sharply, and suddenly realized that it wasn’t his bed at all. He was in his bedroom at his mother’s house, and it was the day his step dad had come home after hearing the rumour of what Link wanted to study after high school. Fear ripped at his belly like claws. His mother would be standing a few feet behind him as if to make sure her son wasn’t actually beaten, but she would make no move to defend him, either._

__I just want to live my life the way I want it to be. I‘ll run away after college. Alaska or California or Oregon. Somewhere…. __

_His step dad was coming up the stairs._

__He can’t really kill me. He can‘t really kill me. He‘ll get in trouble if he hurts me. __

_Foolishly, he pulled the blanket over his head as if that would hide him. He could hear his mother talking from the bottom of the stairs, her voice hysterical, his voice gruff and furious._

_‘Link. Open this door.’ There was no fatherly warmth in the man’s tone as there had been on the first day he’d started showing up at their house, the year his mom put highlights in her hair and started wearing lipstick again. That day, he’d called Link ‘son’ and praised him for the job he’d done mowing the front lawn, telling him that he’d be quite a man someday if he kept up the hard work._

__What if I hold the door shut? What if I push the dresser in front of it? __

_‘Link!’_

_The footsteps grew louder. The door was opening. He trembled beneath the blanket. He wanted his mother, but she did not want him. He began to pray to God - begging Him to make him normal, make him happy, make him the man he was supposed to be. God, Jesus, please, one day…_

“Link?”

Link opened his eyes again and was staring at the bright blue underside of the beach umbrella and the dream disappeared completely, leaving only a sour taste in his mouth. The sun was way down near the horizon. The sky was still blue for now, but he could tell it would soon turn the blazing colour of fire. _Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I‘ve tasted of desire, I hold with those who favour fire…_ he thought randomly, almost morbidly, surprising himself. Who had said that? He’d studied the poem more than two decades ago in high school. Still in a strange sleepy haze, Link rose to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes to try and rid himself of the disoriented feeling.

“Link?” Rhett asked again, his brow furrowing with concern.

“Yeah,” Link blinked hard and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m up. Hey.”

“You look pale,” Rhett said, slipping to his side immediately. “What’s wrong, Link?”

“I dunno. Think I might have had a nightmare.” The details were already gone but his heart was still pounding. A sudden stab of nausea made him put a hand to his mouth and wince. Part of him, deep in his subconscious, was still lying on the bed in his old room, sick with fear, waiting for his step-dad all over again. Knowing that he was different, he did not belong, and he never would. The inner mantra of every gay kid in every small southern town. Link knew better now. But why did he still feel so guilty?

“Too much sun,” Rhett suggested quietly. He helped Link stand and pulled him close for a hug. Their bodies were still warm and sticky with sweat but Link didn’t care. “Too much sun, not enough water. That is the problem.”

“Water,” Link repeated, wetting his lips with his tongue. “Yeah, that does sound good. Maybe I’m just thirsty.” Had he dreamt of water? Or had that been the night before?

Rhett brought him a fresh bottle, and Link did feel better after gulping a third of it down. Splashing some on the back of his neck and on his face helped more. He offered a smile to Rhett, who beamed back.

“We can make fire now and cook food. Meat first. Then show me how to make s’mores, like you promised. We need much food after a long walk. Food and water. Very important to remember.”

“That sounds good. Sorry for passing out on you. You grab the cooler. I’m gonna pump up the air mattress. I wonder if we’ll need the mosquito netting?”

“Probably not,” was Rhett’s judgment. “Link did not have to bring the tent for emergency bad weather, either. It will not get too cold and it will not rain.”

“How do you know?”

“I can smell the air, and know.”

“I like to be prepared.” Link tipped his head back and stared up at Rhett in admiration. “Though you’ve always been right about the weather so far.”

Rhett bent over for an upside-down kiss. They both chuckled. “You need help to fill the air bed?” Rhett asked.

“I should be good. You want to explore, don’t you?” Link could see the perpetual restlessness making Rhett’s limbs twitch. “Go on, grab a snack and have a look around.”

Rhett began scouting the edges of the campsite with glee as he popped almonds and cashews into his mouth. Link took the air mattress and the hand-pump and began to fill their bed slowly. It wouldn’t be as good as his bed, but it was better than nothing. Not that Rhett would mind either way - he’d slept on the hard ground for thirty years. His legs were wobbly and sore from the long walk and his arms felt like jelly by the time the mattress was full. His arms screamed in protest as he shook out the sheets and blankets and tossed them on top, then got out the giant beach umbrella he’d brought for shade

But then Rhett was by his side, rubbing the stiff muscles in his arms and murmuring sweet words in his ear. Link smiled and leaned into the big man’s touch. 

“You look better now,” Rhett told him softly. “But even better after we eat.”

“Probably,” Link agreed, his stomach rumbling.

“Let me make a fire.”

Link handed him the book of matches and Rhett just laughed. “No, Link, I want to do it myself. I like doing it by myself. You relax and watch.”

“Okay,” he agreed easily, sinking into his chair and propping his chin on his hand to watch. He loved the way Rhett looked while focusing on something he liked to do, be it cooking or drawing or whittling. The tip of his tongue peeked out, almost hidden by his beard, and his eyes did not waver from the task at hand. He was endlessly patient and could spend hours on one project. Link had never noticed how restless ‘civilized’ people were in comparison - constantly checking their phone or giving up in frustration or sighing angrily, maybe standing up to pace or to distract themselves. As Rhett made a bow drill out of desert willow sticks and began the long process of rubbing and blowing on the tinder, his arm muscles flexed and danced and he made small sounds of effort. When the first flame caught and grew he let out an exclamation of joy. When he was excited he often forgot his English.

In that moment Link saw the man as he was before they’d come to the city. Those fierce eyes, full of emotion, peering out from a curtain of tangled hair. How they’d softened as they turned to Link. The clumsy but gentle touches and the eager attempts to communicate. The simplicity and happiness of his life. Rhett was a creature of the desert and embraced his role in the world, taking the good and the bad as they came, one moment at a time. Now there were human obstacles, forms and documents and questions and money, and of course the inevitability of a job. _And he’d do it all for me, and more._

But was that good, or bad?

 _God meant for it to happen. It was fate. God watched over Rhett and brought him to me. It was a miracle._ Link hadn’t abandoned his religion completely and knew better than to question a true miracle. _Three decades and three thousand miles, I found him again._

Link stood up just as Rhett did and they stood watching the fire grow, turning from a tiny flame to a brilliant blaze. The store-bought firewood burned slowly. It would last them all night.

Rhett was looking up at the sky now. It was not quite twilight, but already the brightest stars could be seen twinkling above. “Fire up there, fire right here,” the big man mused. “Big sun-fire during the day, to make the plants grow, and fire down here to cook the food. Fire is life.”

“And death,” Link added, watching the edges of the log turn bright orange as the smaller sticks burned to grey nothingness.

“They are the same thing. Life, death.”

“Do you believe in an afterlife?” Link asked.

“Afterlife?”

“After you die, what do you think happens?”

“I know what happens,” Rhett grinned. “Your body splits open in the sun and the animals come to eat. Then the bugs come to eat the soft parts, and then the bones remain, and for a while there are small white things that turn into flies - ”

“Ew, ew, come on, man, we’re about to eat!”

“You asked,” Rhett pointed out. “I tell the truth.”

“I meant something more like…“ Link paused. “Do you think your mind, your memory…Do they keep on living, even when your body is dead?”

“No.” Rhett sounded very sure. “Dead is dead. But the energy from the body goes into the ground and becomes life again. But if a plant grows there, the plant is a plant and not a human, and even if my…mind…was in there, I would not know. I would be just a plant. What else would happen?”

“Some humans think we go to heaven or hell. Heaven is for good people and hell is for bad people. And then you stay there forever.”

“Nothing is forever. Where do you get these ideas?”

“From the Bible. From church. God judges us all after we die, and we either go to heaven if we‘re good or hell if we‘re bad.”

“Human ideas,” said Rhett. “Bad human ideas.”

“They’re not so bad,” Link protested, offended. While he certainly didn’t subscribe to his family’s rigid interpretation of Christianity, it was nonetheless important to him still. “It’s a good way to make sure people know right from wrong, and treat each other with kindness. Having faith helps a lot of people survive.”

Rhett only shrugged. “If bad people only do good so that they do not go to hell, are those people good or bad?”

Link thought about that one for a while. “I don’t know,” he said at last, “but at least we all benefit from those who might otherwise hurt others, but are too scared of God‘s wrath.”

“God’s wrath,“ Rhett chuckled. “Wrath and petty judgment and sending people to be hurt…is God a human with human emotions? I do not think he could be the thing that created the world if he thinks like a human.”

Link chewed on that, too. “Should I be offended?” he joked, instead of answering the question. 

“No. You cannot change what you are. And what you are is a human. It is not your fault, but that is what it is.”

“Thanks, Rhett,” Link said dryly.

“You know I do not want to say it in a mean way.” He paused. “Do you believe in an afterlife, Link?”

“I don’t believe in hell. Not any more. I used to think I was going there. But I do think we go to heaven, all of us.” 

Rhett nodded. “More fair,” he agreed. “Sounds fun.” He looked more closely at Link. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

“Just thinking about my church back home,” Link said absently, staring into the fire as he pictured the sea of familiar faces in the pews from both Buies Creek and Lillington.

“That bad place?”

“It’s really not all bad. I’ve told you.” Link still had mixed feelings about religion. Maybe he didn’t go to church anymore, but its impact on him was unquestionable. He wasn’t sure if he would be welcomed back or if he belonged at all. 

Rhett shoved one of the little wooden spears they’d brought to cook the sausages with into Link’s hand. “Here, Link. We cook food now, and forget about bad times.”

“Good idea,” Link agreed.

Dinner was a fun affair. They cooked their sausages over the crackling flames until the smell had Link’s stomach growling. Rhett loved the chili - he loved beans, Link had discovered, cooked any way or even just raw from a can - and had fun making the chilli dogs for both of them. 

“Good beans,” he said happily, spooning more chilli over a third sausage for himself. “Very good idea to make beans to bring. Gives us much energy, like meat and eggs.”

“It’ll give us the farts in the middle of the night, too, most likely,” Link teased. 

Rhett laughed. “That is why it is good to sleep in the open.”

“Make sure you save room for dessert,” Link warned as he watched Rhett stuff half of the chilli dog into his mouth. 

“Much room,” Rhett promised. “Do not worry. I can eat lots.”

After dinner, and after s’mores - the first sweet dessert Rhett seemed to really enjoy - Link opened a beer and sat back in his canvas chair to watch the world descend into twilight. Rhett stood in front of the fire as if to warm himself, despite the temperature still being in the mid-seventies. The light of the flames turned his hair into a halo of glowing amber. Link’s breath caught in his chest when he looked at the man’s face. He looked too beautiful to be real. 

Link remembered the first time he’d seen Rhett in all his naked, primal glory. There had been fear, yes…and awe, too. While his brain had screamed warnings, his gut had reacted instantly to the confidence and openness in Rhett’s expression. He had known even then that he was attracted to Rhett despite his wild ways. When Rhett had first tried to touch him, Link managed to laugh it off as nothing more than the hormonal response of a very lonely man who had never had a chance to interact with another person. But when he realized Rhett’s interest in him was genuine, it was like pouring gasoline on a raging fire and it refused to be extinguished. Rhett had watched him undress by the lake with such obvious pleasure that Link still blushed to think of it.

Rhett was watching him now. The flickering shadows made him look fierce and oddly feline. His gaze traveled up and down Link’s body with such intensity that Link actually felt the hairs on the back of his neck and his arms rise up like the air was charged. He found himself walking slowly toward Rhett like a man hypnotized. 

“Link,’ Rhett rumbled in a deep bass note. “Come.” He opened his arms and Link stepped into them, gasping at the heat of the man’s body and clothes. His head was swimming with a flood of carnal urges. Going up on his tiptoes, Link mouthed at Rhett’s throat and have a tiny moan at the taste of salty sweat and wood smoke.

The fire sizzled and popped loudly behind him, caressing his back with its warmth. Rhett’s hands stroked Link’s sides firmly, and then one hand was gone and Rhett was kissing his gasping mouth and fumbling at his own pants zipper. Link didn’t realize his own hands were scrambling to help until the velvety heaviness of Rhett’s manhood was filling his palms. 

“Ahhh,” Link sucked in a lungful of air as he used both hands to firmly grasp his lover’s cock. He could feel the length of it throbbing between his palms as it became more engorged. 

Rhett panted into Link’s open mouth as he struggled to pull his sack free from the cotton boxer shorts. Link got a handful of that too, rolling the man’s balls in his palm softly as his knuckles scraped the open teeth of the zipper. The stiff starchy clothes seemed so out of place in this primaeval land. He became aware of his own discomfort - the sweat dampening his armpits, his cock trapped beneath a layer of denim, the hems and cumbersome pockets and elastic waistbands that restrained him everywhere. Suddenly, it was not enough to expose just the part of Rhett he wanted to touch the most. Part of him wanted to rip off all their clothes and throw them on the fire. Part of him wanted to drop to his knees and spread himself open, begging silently until Rhett knelt behind him and pushed inside in one long stroke. And part of him wanted to leave the car and his possessions behind and drag Rhett to his cave to live as a man was meant to live.

Fortunately, Rhett’s head was clearer than his. “Careful, Link,” he said huskily as Link moved to kneel. “I cannot see small dangerous animals or cactus spikes well when you are distracting me so good.”

Filthy words spilled from Link‘s lips before he could think of a less blunt way to say them. “I want you to fuck me, Rhett.” 

“I want that too.“ Rhett moistened his lips with his tongue. “I get the blanket from the car.”

“Okay,” Link almost whispered, shivering with anticipation.

“While I do that, you take clothes off.”

“You too, then.” But when Link turned his head to watch Rhett climb into the truck to retrieve their extra blanket, the man was already naked. Link watched his toned backside sway with the rolling movement of his odd yet graceful gait. Suddenly his clothes were on the ground and Link could not recall when he’d taken them off. 

Rhett spread the blanket on the sand, close enough to the fire to be warm yet safe. He regarded it with satisfaction, and then turned to Link with a wicked smile. “My Link,” he rumbled, “I want you.”

“I want you too, Rhett, you have no idea.” Link slid his arms around the tall man’s shoulders. 

“I need to be in you.” Rhett rarely sounded demanding as he did now. It was not altogether unpleasant.

“Oh yeah?” Link teased faintly. “What are you waiting for then?”

“I am waiting for Link to beg more.” 

“You’re gonna be waiting a long time.” They liked to play games like this, challenging each other until one of them backed down.

“I don’t think so, Link.”

Link gasped as Rhett took him by the shoulders and pushed him on his back. Link looked up to the darkening sky and felt a surge of vertigo. He grabbed onto Rhett’s shoulders to anchor himself as the man laid down half on top of him.

He rolled on top of Rhett and aligned himself so that their cocks rubbed up firmly against each other. His hips moved relentlessly, grinding downward, craving friction. The cool breeze caressed him like a lover. Rhett’s hands squeezed his ass firmly and spread him open, and the cold air on his hole made him aware of his need. He was hot all over, his skin prickling, the emptiness in him almost unbearable. 

“Rhett…” Link shifted his knees up until Rhett’s stiff member was pressing between his cheeks rigid. “Okay, you win. You win fair and square. Oh, please, please, I need you.”

Rhett pushed Link’s ass cheeks together, trapping his cock between, and thrust upward. Link whimpered at the feeling of the man’s length rubbing against his hole. They rutted against each other until they were both half-mad with desire. Rhett was making him slippery back there with his excitement. Link thought it might just push right inside if one of them moved just right, if Rhett were to just wriggle a little further up on the blanket as Link slid back down on him - and _oh_ , he wanted that, he wanted Rhett to forget about the lube and forget about being gentle and just _make_ him take it without warning. Link arched his back and let himself sink down just a little bit, to give Rhett the idea.

“Link - ” Rhett grabbed his hip. “I do not want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” Rhett argued, his eyes softening. 

“I trust you.”

“I know.” 

The hand on Link’s hip was making it hard for him to keep up the rhythm. “Rhett, I need it, don’t make me wait.”

“Punishment,” Rhett quoted, his amusement written all over his face as he watched Link’s face fall. “This is the good punishment for yesterday out in the big national park, on the rock by the small lake.”

“I’d hoped you’d forgotten,” Link wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m in for it now, huh?”

Rhett lifted Link off of him by the hips as easily as one might lift a doll. “I do not forget,” he said firmly as he sat Link down on the blanket. 

Link immediately leaned back and began to stroke himself, pressing his lips together to muffle the moans. He was aware of Rhett’s eyes on him, could hear his heavy breathing. Rhett loved to watch Link play with himself. _I’ve got him,_ Link thought to himself smugly. “Oh,” he purred, opening his legs. “Come on, Rhett, come here and make love to me.” He made sure Rhett was watching as he brought a finger to his mouth to wet it. When he pushed it inside to the first knuckle, a fire ignited behind Rhett’s eyes. Link bit his full lower lip and focused on the wonderful sensations as he prepared himself for what was to come. For a while, the only sounds were Rhett’s hoarse breathing, Link’s soft gasps and the wet slick sound of his finger moving in and out his ass.

 _He won’t be able to resist for long._

“Where are your pants?” Rhett asked suddenly.

“My pants?” Link repeated blankly, withdrawing the finger and stroking his dick instead. “What?”

“Yep. Pants.” Rhett located them himself and grinned as he pulled out Link’s leather belt in one long smooth motion. 

Hazy with lust, Link’s brain did not catch up until his arms were being stretched over his head and held together with one massive fist. Only when Rhett began to wrap the leather belt around his wrists did the truth hit. 

“Wait, Rhett!” Link protested, squirming. “I kinda need my hands right now.”

“I do not think that you do,” Rhett countered. “I know one thing you need, and it is not hands.” 

“Maybe that would be true if you hurried up and did something.“ Link tugged gently at first, not really wanting the game to be over. When he felt how firmly his hands were bound, he tugged harder, and then tried with all his might to break free. He was trapped. He let out a tiny whimper.

“You said you trust me, right?” Rhett bent low to breathe in his ear.

“I did. And I meant it.”

“I will not hurt you. Not ever.”

Link closed his eyes and Rhett kissed him on the cheek. “I know.”

“Good.” The taller man sat up. “Good. Now you lay still, and let me touch.”

Rhett’s fingertips began to explore Link’s body, a light and loving touch that would have been appreciated if they were just waking up or sitting on Link’s deck out back. Link had always liked having his back or chest drawn on as he lay in bed. But now, in this state of arousal, it felt more like torture. It was like being given a thimbleful of water when he was hot and thirsty. A little taste of what he needed was worse than not getting anything at all. Link gritted his teeth and tensed as he endured the torture in silence. He could kick or roll away if he really wanted to, but he wanted to be good for Rhett.

His manful silence lasted until Rhett began to trace looping figure-eights on his inner thighs. Link gave a shout and pressed his legs together, shaking his head, begging, “I can’t, I can’t stand it. I need more. Stop teasing.”

Rhett wedged a knee between his thighs without effort and resumed his work. “Be good, Link, or else I will not give you what you want.”

“I am being good.” Link was stubborn by nature. He fluttered his eyelashes innocently.

“You stay still, then.”

This was easier said than done. Rhett pulled back and lifted Link’s ankles in the air, resting both over one shoulder. The position made Link gasp and his abs tighten. His long fingers began the figure-eight motions again, this time on Link’s perineum. 

“Rhett!” Link moaned. “Yes, yes, that’s right, put it in.”

“Naughty,” Rhett reprimanded him. He pressed the ball of his thumb against Link’s hole. “If you want this little hole filled up by my cock, you must behave.”

Link squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t handle looking at Rhett’s face; it was too tempting. “I will,” he gasped, trying to sound humble. “I’ll behave.”

“Good. Now beg for me again. I like to hear it.”

“Please,“ Link began immediately. “Please, Rhett, take me, make me yours. I‘ve been waiting for so long. I‘ve been thinking about doing this all day.” 

“You want this inside you?” Rhett pumped a hand up and down his own leaking cock.

“You know I do. Give it to me. Please, please, nothing else compares to you. Take me.”

Rhett set his ankles down. “Show me.”

Link was shameless in his ecstasy. He didn’t know what to do to prove what he wanted, his hands being tied up, so he just bent his knees and spread his thighs wide to present himself. His cheeks burned but he enjoyed the twinge of humiliation.

“Good Link.” Rhett poured a dollop of lube over his index and middle fingers and brought them to Link’s opening, just rubbing the pads back and forth at first. Link rocked his hips into the gentle touch. He was so relaxed that Rhett was able to slip both digits deep inside without any resistance. Link widened his thighs even further with a little groan. It was bliss, but it wasn’t enough.

“So relaxed. Link is ready. Nice and open for me down there, like how you are after sex is over.” Rhett was stroking his dick with his left hand as he pleasured Link with his right. Link stared at it, his mouth watering.

“Put it in me, Rhett. I want it hard. I need it rough and hard.” Link barely recognized his own voice. The words coming out of his mouth sounded straight out of some dirty movie. Not even two months ago he’d been almost too nervous to try any anal play at all, and now here he was, wanting it more than anything in the world.

Rhett didn’t question the demand. He growled and bit gently at Link’s calf, rubbing his rough beard against the skin there. Link arched his back up off the bed and wriggled until Rhett leaned forward to hold him still. And then, _finally_ , thank God in Heaven, he lined the head of his cock up with Link’s hole and pushed himself inside with a groan.

“Yes!” Link’s voice was hoarse and his eyes were wild. He pulled hard at the makeshift wrist cuffs. “Yes, Rhett, fuck me good. yeah, just like that - _oh_ , you’re so big, you fill me up just right.”

“You must come without me touching you here,” Rhett instructed, giving Link’s manhood a quick squeeze. “Okay? That is the good punishment I had thought up for you.”

“I’ve never…I’ve never done that before. I don‘t know if I can.” 

“I make this your first time. You just lay back and relax.“ Rhett sounded confident. In the shower, he’d come to know his own body even better than he had before. Link had watched him finger himself, wonderstruck, as Rhett explained that he needed to know that that good spot inside him was and how to access it again.

Rhett began slowly, just pushing in as far as he could go and then bending down to kiss Link’s neck and collarbones. He pulled out at the same excruciatingly slow pace, watching Link let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. With his hands tied Link could do nothing but focus on the incredible feeling of being stretched out and filled up by Rhett’s impressive girth. His cock bobbed helplessly between his legs. Rhett paid it no attention at all.

Link closed his eyes, willing his body to calm down and stay in control. “Yes,” he whispered as Rhett pushed in a little faster. “Yes, yes, please.” 

“You feel so good,” Rhett answered huskily, moving his hands to Link’s ankles. He leaned forward, bending Link almost in half. “You like it like this?”

Link was truly helpless now, with his arms restrained and his ankles in Rhett’s grasp; Rhett’s weight pinning him down and his thick cock buried inside. “Fuck,” he whimpered. “I do, I love it. I love this.”

“Good,“ Rhett growled and turned his head to the side to kiss Link’s left ankle tenderly. The next thrust in this new position made him cry out. Rhett’s cock slid in so deep that Link felt as though it might poke out from his stomach, and he couldn’t move at all to alleviate the intensity. He squirmed and Rhett held him still, kissing his panting mouth until the panic faded and the pleasure took over once more.

“Are you close, Link?” Rhett grunted in his ear, hips snapping forward a little faster. “You are so tight and sound so good that I will come soon, too.”

“Rhett, Rhett, gosh, Rhett,” Link chanted. “I can’t - I’m close, but - gosh, I want more. Give it to me harder.” 

“I give you more.” Rhett pushed Link’s ankles closer to his shoulders, the limit of the smaller man’s flexibility. “You tell me when I hit the good spot, okay?”

“Okay.”

Rhett began to rotate his hips just slightly with each thrust, getting a different angle each time. The pleasure built until Link could tell Rhett was close, he was very close to that special bundle of nerves, just a little bit to the left, and _oh_. Link shuddered uncontrollably as electricity shot through all of his muscles. His brain felt like it short-circuited. He stared up at Rhett, his face frozen in an open-mouthed gasp of astonishment. No matter how many times Rhett made love to him Link never got used to the ultimate pleasure that his prostate could bring.

Now that Rhett knew the end was close, he did not hold back. “Come for me, Link,“ he commanded. 

“I will. Yes, Rhett, I will, oh fuck don’t stop. Don’t ever stop, don’t take it out, just stay in me forever - _ah!_ Ah, Rhett, that feels so _good_!” The belt around his wrists no longer felt like a punishment though he burned to reach up and touch Rhett’s shoulders and chest. He was safe here, with Rhett in charge. Safe, loved, cherished in a way he never thought he deserved. Rhett’s love for him was pure and strong and real. “I love you,” he said out loud, those three simple words that he had never been able to say to Max or to the few other men he’d dated half-heartedly. “I love you.”

He heard Rhett echo the words. Everything sounded as if it were underwater. Link was floating, rocking with the waves, his body a slave to the current. Rhett’s deep thrusts began to ache, but even the pain was sweet. Link’s whimpers were swallowed by a bruising kiss that went on so long he began to feel light-headed from the lack of air. 

“Rhett, I’m going to - to - ” Link swallowed against his dry throat. “Oh Rhett, fuck. Fuck yeah, baby, so close, fuck me harder. Harder. Don‘t hold back.”

Rhett grunted and sped up to a brutal pace. His hips slammed into Link’s backside and the rhythmic slaps of flesh on flesh echoed as they travelled across the sand. The friction built up and up until it became almost unbearable. His entire body rocked with the force of Rhett’s thrusts, bringing him up to unfathomable heights of pleasure. He had never known what it was like to be taken in such a way, or what it was like to bring the man he loved such pleasure and listen to the sweet groans coming from behind him.

Link felt his orgasm coming with the force of a tsunami and screamed, the sound raw and sharp. His world narrowed down to nothing but the feeling of Rhett inside him and on top of him, the smells of sweat and man and wilderness. In the distance, an animal screamed back. Or was that an echo? He felt his own warm wetness splattering his thighs and belly as he was swept beneath the powerful rush of his climax. It seemed to last forever, Rhett fucking him through it with ferocious strength until he yelled too and slumped forward, his cock twitching deep inside as he filled Link with his seed.

Link thought he might have passed out. When he came out of his daze it was like waking from a dream. Rhett was still inside him, softening now, everything loosened and wet down there. He withdrew himself slowly and kissed each one of Link’s stiff legs before he set them down carefully on the blanket and moved to undo the belt around Link’s wrists.

It was cold without Rhett pressed up against him. The gentle breeze made Link shiver and curl up. 

“Tired?” Rhett asked gently. He kissed Link’s cheek. 

“I…gosh, yes, I am. Rhett, that was…” Link searched for the right word and didn’t find it. “That was…”

Rhett caught on. “The best things are hard to describe with words,” he told Link. “I know this. I feel the same.”

Link rolled to the side with some effort and embraced the bigger man. He tried to put a lot of those indescribable feelings into the hug, and he thought he succeeded when Rhett hugged him back and pulled away to stare deeply into his eyes. 

“Very sleepy Link,” Rhett said quietly. “Sore legs and sore arms. I will help you to the car bed.”

“Okay,” Link murmured. 

First, Rhett went to extinguish their fire with sand. Then he came back and scooped him right up off the blanket with a quiet grunt of effort. Link giggled sleepily as he was carried to the truck and placed on the mattress gently. He would have been content to just fall asleep, but he sat up reluctantly to wiggle into his boxers and T-shirt, just in case some park ranger decided to drive up and have a chat. Rhett did the same before snuggling up beside Link and turning on his side with a huff.

“Want me to spoon you?” Link slurred, sleepily.

“Mmhmm,” Rhett sighed, wriggling his butt against Link’s side demandingly. “Want to be the little spoon.”

Link turned and put his arm around Rhett’s waist. _Mine,_ he thought with a shockingly strong pulse of emotion. _This man is mine, mine forever._ It was a perfect end to a perfect day. 

The sky was fully dark now and only the stars were witness to the two unlikely lovers that lay alone in the great desert wilderness. Alone, the darkness would have been frightening and smothering. In Rhett’s arms it was laughable that anything could ever frighten him again. 

He buried his face in the back of Rhett’s neck and closed his eyes.

**

“Home, Link!” Rhett cried joyfully as he laid his face against an ironwood tree as if it were a long-lost friend. “We are home. Look. I know this tree. I know these flowers. I know this land. It knows me, too.” He ran ahead and came back with a purple flower to tuck behind Link’s ear. His happiness was contagious and Link laughed with him despite the blazing heat of the sun and the soreness in his thighs and calves.

After their long sleep and the short but pleasant drive from Joshua Tree, both men were in high spirits. Link had been concerned about hurting his bad shoulder with a night on the lousy thin air mattress, but he felt more physically healthy than he had in a long time. He was used to waking up in the pitch darkness and fumbling for his alarm clock, its shrill screeching making his heart race and his ears burn. Waking up to the open air and the sound of birds singing put him in a good mood immediately. Rhett had already been awake, waiting for him. After packing up their belongings, deflating the air mattress, and folding the sheets and blankets back up into the duffel bags, they were on their way northeast to the vast land that laid to the south of Mojave National Reserve. 

“There is a song I know that sounds like how I feel right now,” Rhett told him, bouncing in place. “Do you know the composer Edvard Grieg?”

“Edvard? Sounds like a vampire to me.”

“I must make you listen. It is called _Holberg Suite._ On the computer in the video all the people playing the instruments are dancing, when usually they sit very still.” Rhett paused. “What is a vampire?”

Link giggled. “A made-up monster. It’s a long story.”

“Monster! The musician man was no monster. Bad Link.” Rhett tossed a sunflower seed at him.

“Now you’re wasting food,” Link countered. “Who’s the bad one now?”

“It was for the birds, Link. The birds need to eat too.”

Link looked up at the sky to where vultures were circling. “Looks like the only birds around here would rather eat us.”

“There are many of those birds that eat dead things in the sky,” Rhett agreed with a frown. “A big animal must have died nearby.”

“Or maybe it’s mating season for them.” Link leered at Rhett and grabbed a handful of his butt playfully.

“This is no mating season,” Rhett said firmly though his eyes were twinkling.

“It could be, if you play your cards right, bo.”

“Link is funny,“ Rhett said. “We both know that I am so good, you beg to be mated all the time.” 

“Such a charmer, and so humble too,” teased Link, dodging another sunflower seed. 

They walked on, taking the familiar route that would lead them to the lake first. It was warm even for the desert. and a swim sounded like the perfect remedy. Link had brought his swim trunks but knew Rhett would likely convince him to get naked. As usual.

Suddenly, Rhett stopped and frowned, looking all around him. 

“What is it, Rhett?” Link did a double take. “Hey, you okay? You look like something just gave you a turn.”

“Do you hear it?” Rhett stooped and pressed his palms against the ground, his eyes closed and his face lifted upward into the wind. “I hear…cars. Do the cars go off the roads in the desert, Link?”

“I guess they could, but I’m not sure why they‘d be out this far.” Link kept his tone jocular but he felt his gut twist with uneasiness. Unless they were drastically off course, the road was miles away. “Maybe it’s an airplane?”

“Airplane,” Rhett repeated skeptically. “The flying machines?”

“Yeah. Those are pretty loud, and they can sound like cars.”

“The sound is not coming from the sky.” Rhett sounded very sure of this. “There should not be this noise. I do not understand it.”

Link still couldn’t hear anything. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” he told the other man, whose brow only creased more deeply. As they got closer, though, the sound grew loud enough for even Link to hear. Link’s first thought was that it was a lawnmower; it sounded just like the whine of his neighbours’ weed-trimmer that they liked to break out at nine AM every Sunday. It had the same grating quality. But then the sound changed and he heard more of a crushing, booming noise; something falling hard. 

Rhett’s face went from concerned to horrified. He groped at his side for Link’s hand. “What is happening? What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Link said, but at that moment another more distinct noise came to him on the wind: the obnoxious, repetitive beeping of a vehicle reversing.

“It’s coming from my lake, Link. What is that? Tell me!”

“I don’t know!”

Rhett broke into a run and Link followed, his heart somewhere in his throat as the noises grew louder and louder. The land sloped steeply upward, rising up into the cliffs that surrounded the lake itself. They could hear voices now, too; laughter and shouting to be heard over the din. It was a city sound, and one that seemed hideously out of place in this ancient and uninhabited place.

As they reached the plateau, they stopped dead at the same time. Link gasped aloud and put his hands to his mouth. 

On the other side, the beach side, the lake had been fenced off with the type of temporary steel fencing used by construction crews. Down by the beach where the two men had touched each other for the first time, a tractor was busily flattening the surrounding land. The prickly pear bushes were already torn up, and the mighty ironwood was lying on its side in a sad heap like an old Christmas tree tossed on the curb after New Year’s. More tractors, a backhoe, and a dump truck were on standby. Someone had left a black garbage bag just outside the fence; it was leaking a putrid sludgy liquid and had torn open enough to scatter cigarette butts, Dunkin Donuts cups, and food garbage all alone the edge of it.

A cry of anguish echoed across the sand. Rhett – graceful, surefooted Rhett – stumbled and fell to his knees on the rocky ground. Link cried out in sympathy, rushing to his side, but Rhett hunched his back defensively and shook off the helping hand Link laid on his shoulder. Shocked, Link stepped back, nearly tripping and falling himself. His shoe slipped on a rock and twisted his ankle sideways. He managed to stay upright, but only just.

“Rhett, are you okay?” he managed to croak through the pain. “Rhett, baby, talk to me.” Link limped toward his lover, but left a respectable distance between them in case Rhett lashed out in anger again.

“What,” Rhett gasped out, sounding like his throat was full of shards of glass. “What did…what did they do to my home?”

“I don’t know,” Link said hopelessly. “I don’t know, Rhett, but it looks like – It looks like they’re developing the land for something.”

“My land…Gone…Big cars crushing the plants, the land, the little bird nest in the tree…”

“Tom and Evans Paving Co.,” Link read from the sign on the fence. There was more writing beneath that he could not make out at this distance, but there was no mistaking the enormous headline – PRIVATE PROPERTY. “They’re making a road, I think.”

Rhett’s eyes looked like a trapped animal’s as they rolled toward the sign. “Is not private property. There doesn’t need to be a road. This is my lake. This is the lake for all the animals here. Link, tell them, take the sign away. Take the fence away.”

“I…I can’t, Rhett.”

“Help me. Help me do this thing, Link.”

Link‘s voice was a papery rasp. “I can’t.” 

Rhett tried to stand, and could not. He looked at Link, his eyes streaming tears, and then put his head down and folded his body in on itself until he resembled a small boulder. 

Link felt his helplessness keenly and it was becoming hard to breathe. _I’m still asleep,_ he thought suddenly. _It’s another nightmare. Only another bad dream. We’re still in the truck, we never left the park. Open your eyes. Wake up. Wake up._

The mechanical whines and groans only grew louder, until the volume made Link want to clap his hands over his ears. Rhett was quickly losing his learned human mannerisms and his eyes showed white as he hunkered down among the rocks like he meant to hide from an enemy. Link felt clumsy as he knelt down next to the big man and stroked his back. The muscles there felt taut as a coiled spring. “We should go,” his lips were saying. “We should go. We can go back to the car and talk about this. We can…we can…I can make this better. There are other places to swim. Other caves to explore. And you have a real home now. A real home with me.” 

“Not home. No. Bad place.” 

Link fought to see the positive. “Maybe they’re making this into another park. Preserving the land. Like Joshua Tree.”

“Killing. They are killing the land. Don’t humans have enough places they have killed and made their own?”

“Rhett…”

“Talk to them. Tell them. Pay them money. Say, I am buying this land with money. Like you bought the house in the city.”

“It doesn’t work like that. Rhett, I told you, I can’t. These people working aren’t the ones who decided to…to do whatever this is. This is just their job.”

“Job,” Rhett spit. “For money, again. Stupid. Stupid and evil. That is what humans are. I do not forget what I learn. Pollution. War. Murder. Murder for money.”

“Rhett, it’s just…it’s just a road. It’s only a…a sad coincidence that they happen to be building it through where you grew up.”

Rhett gave him a hostile look. “Just a road?”

“I don’t mean to be - to be flippant, and I’m not making light of it, but - ”

Rhett snorted. “I stay. I…I fight. For my home. Big water place. I…” He frowned as he struggled to remember his English. “I stay. I make people leave. You go.”

Link put a hand around Rhett’s bicep and tugged. “We can’t stay here. We can’t fight them. Remember the police, and the law? We can’t - you don’t understand - there’s nothing we can do. Come on. Stand up, Rhett, please.”

Rhett grabbed Link’s hand and _threw_ it off of him with enough force to knock him backward. Shocked and unprepared, Link did fall this time. He landed on his butt and caught himself awkwardly with the heel of his hand. It was a hard landing. He tasted blood and realized with a dim sort of surprise that he’d bitten his tongue on impact. Link stared at Rhett dimly as if too slow to grasp the man’s meaning.

“Rhett, why did you - ”

“I tell you, go away,” Rhett breathed. “Go away from me. Leave me alone.”

Link felt a stab of pain in his chest. “Rhett, baby, you don’t mean that. Let’s…let’s go back to the truck and talk, okay? It’s gonna be alright. I love you. I love you. I - you love me too, remember? You said you did. You said…last night…” 

Rhett slowly lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot and menacing and his lips pulled back in a doglike snarl. “I said _no!_ ” he roared with such fury that Link almost expected the words to be accompanied by a blow. He even lifted his arms to defend himself and immediately felt ashamed of himself. _He’s not going to hurt you. He loves you. He‘s just emotional. He didn‘t mean to shove you._ But he had seen that look before. His step dad had looked at him the same way. With revulsion and disgust, worse than hate.

“Rhett, you’re scaring me.” His voice was high and thin. “Think about this. Please. You can’t just stay here and make a scene.”

“You stay away. You do not tell me what to do. You go back to your awful city, with your awful people who wear stupid clothes and live in stupid boxes and kill animals and good land for fun and work at jobs they do not like all day for money.”

“We don’t have to go back right away. We can…we can go to another park, or…”

“You go by yourself.”

“You don’t mean that. You can’t mean that. Rhett…”

“I am not a liar,” Rhett retorted.

“Please,” Link said numbly, “please, Rhett, I love you. I love you.” 

Rhett’s eyes were awful to look at. “I do not,” Rhett replied roughly. “You are…you are one of them.”

“We both are,” Link struggled to breathe. It felt like Rhett was standing on his chest. “We’re both human.”

“I am not. I am not, and I never will be.”

“Rhett – ”

Rhett rose from his crouch and began to run, his legs a blur, moving like an Olympic sprinter. He disappeared among the tall cliffs at the far side of the lake. Link could not climb well enough to follow.

“Rhett!” 

Chasing Rhett was as useless as trying to swim against the current at the top of a waterfall. Link tried to catch up but knew it was hopeless before he started. He fell to his knees when his legs and lungs gave out, gasping for air, praying out loud as he’d done so many years ago, wishing as he did back then that he could pull the blanket over his head and come out only when the world was safe and right once more. 

Wake up, he urged himself. You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, and Rhett will kiss you better and hold you until you feel silly for ever having dreamt such a thing.

Link waited, and waited, but he would not wake from this. It was worse than the abandonment by his parents and friends. In his heart he’d always known that his family could not love him, but he had been starting to believe that Rhett really did.

He‘d looked Rhett in the eyes not twelve hours ago, pouring out his heart. _I trust you…I love you…_

The vultures flew in a lazy circle over Link as he lay curled in a ball beside the patch of Mojave asters, the same flower Rhett had so lovingly tucked behind Link’s ear just minutes or a lifetime ago. The machines droned on, relentless, driving nails into the coffin that held the remnants of Link’s faith in God.


	12. Fighter

Rhett opened his eyes. 

Or at least, he thought he did. All was black. His eyelids felt weighted and his tongue was thick and furry in his mouth. He needed to go to the water place soon and drink deeply, but he was so tired that he could not move.

 _I need to brush my teeth,_ he thought hazily, tasting sharp, sweet mint; and then, _What does that mean?_ He cleaned his teeth by chewing sticks and using the frayed and bitten end to scrub things away.

A flash of memory; a noise so loud it had made pain in both ears and behind his eyes.

It was cold. Rhett wanted to stand up and find his fur robe. His cave smelled funny, like the air during a lightning storm. On some level he was becoming aware that something was very, very wrong. When he managed to move his head slightly, he could not feel the weight of his hair on his shoulders. Once he’d burned the edge of his hair on the fire. Did he burn all of his good hair away?

He was not in his cave. He was on something soft. _My robe,_ he thought, trying to tug at it. His hands did not obey. Slowly, he was awakening. Much too slowly. He wondered if he had eaten something bad, but his stomach did not hurt. Nothing seemed to hurt. His entire body was very numb. The world faded in and out and he tried hard to focus on what was happening.

There were many of the bad animals around him, talking in low voices, circling him like the hungry vulture bird. Rhett watched them in awe and revulsion. He did not know what they wanted from him and he cringed when they came near. There was pain and there was great fear and there was the new and horrible feeling that he thought was called loneliness. He still could not move. Was this what it meant to die? Was he dead already? 

The animals around him moved in a way familiar to him. They were much like him in shape. Once upon a time they were unknown intruders, the most feared kind of enemy. _They_ acted as bold as the mountain cat facing a rabbit and so Rhett knew they were to be feared. But now, it was not _them_ , but _us_ , because all along he had been a bad animal like them. On the outside, at least. On the inside he was part of the big great song that was life in the desert. Maybe the bad humans had him now because they knew he was different and were planning to hurt or kill him. Humans liked to hurt and kill other humans that were different on the inside. Rhett remembered watching a box where human bodies lay dead amongst smoke and fire and rubble. He had watched a group of humans with light coloured faces mob a human with a darker face like the crows would mob the golden eagle, except that the dark human had not been trying to eat their young as the eagle had done to deserve the mobbing. 

Light flashed in his face. Rhett snapped his eyes closed and turned his face to the side, terrified. There was a bad animal right above him. Looking at him. _What do you want? Kill me already, if you’re going to!_

The person was speaking. They had a light, husky voice. She saw Rhett’s open eyes and said gentle things but Rhett was not fooled. As she spoke, Rhett contemplated dying and found he did not feel strongly about it. It was a natural thing to do. It happened in the desert all the time and was not a reason to get upset. If it was happening, there was nothing one could do to stop it.

Except…

Another flash of memory came upon him. This memory was ancient, well-buried but never truly forgotten. Rhett remembered being in a room like this one that made loud sounds and moved very fast. He was either very small in this memory, or else all the other people were much, much bigger and taller. There was a person with him who was not dressed in white and blue like the other people who were holding him down and telling him to be calm. 

“It’s a febrile seizure, it’s okay, he’ll be okay, ma’am,” someone was saying from far away, his voice calm and steady. The other person, who was a female, who smelled like all the things in the world that he valued and loved like the wind off the lake and the sun on wet flowers after the rain, was crying. 

“It’s not just a seizure, he’s burning up, he’s got a concussion, oh, Lordy, oh, my Rhett - ”

 _Mom,_ he thought, and suddenly his throat was thick and he was scared, scared because she was scared for him, she was crying, and every fibre of his being screamed out in protest against this obscenity. Back then, his head hurt and his throat hurt and he could not stop his body from shaking violently, and he had fallen and hit his head very hard.

“Mom?”

“Oh, Lord, oh, God, don’t you take my baby boy, don’t you let him die.”

“We’re doing all we can, ma’am. Try to stay calm.”

She did not listen. “Jesus, have mercy, don’t take him before you take me. Don’t you do it. Oh, Lord, Lord…a hundred and six degree fever, in a child…”

“Mom?” he asked again, wanting to reach for her. He could almost picture her face, but time had blurred his memory. He remembered her smell and the feeling of her arms around him, her hand in his. When he cried, she was there to make him feel better. When he bumped his elbow or fell down, she would hold him and the pain would go away like magic.

“I love you, Rhett,” she would say, and he’d say the words back to her and it would make him feel so good and so safe.

“You’re gonna be strong, Rhett,” his mom said to him, as he lay in a white room with many strange people. “You’re going to fight this. And you’re going to win. You’re going to _live_ , baby. You’re gonna live. You’re gonna beat this, Rhett, you’re my little fighter. I love you.”

Those three little words were so important. He’d said them recently, to another important person, a person with hair like the darkest, richest mesquite seeds and eyes like the sky. The hair felt soft like the fur of his robe when Rhett stroked his hands through it. It was soft when it laid against his shoulder, in bed when they were tucked up together. The hands were soft too and touched him in the places that he had to cover in public. It hurt to think about him. Rhett remembered the look of pain on that handsome face

“Rhett…” 

His leg was beginning to hurt very, very bad. Rhett tried to call for his mother again but she did not hear. She was fading away. He was big again, and the people around him were moving the bed he was lying on down a ramp and across the ground. Rhett swallowed his fear and closed his eyes very tightly. Something poked him, uncomfortable but not painful, and then the pain receded like the big waves from the ocean.

 _What is the ocean?_ he thought as he drifted off. The only waves his lake made were the ones caused by him jumping from the cliffs, when he landed feet first and popped up laughing in his own rippling wake.

_Don’t let me die. My mom doesn’t want me to die. Mom, where are you?_

Darkness, again.

 _I will not die. I will not. Mom, I will not._ The fight in him - and there was a good deal of it, even when he could not move - swelled up strong inside him

Somebody was holding his hand. He clung to it, wanting the comfort. He was big now, but he felt small. The person was saying his name. By the voice, Rhett could tell it was a male. He sounded very familiar. Rhett tried to speak, to reassure the man, who sounded sad. But he could not make words come out. 

The person kept Rhett’s hand in his as a female came in and put her hands on him everywhere and pressed on places that hurt until he cried out and tried to fight. She made soothing noises at him and he could not understand the words. He did not trust her. They were all bad. He didn’t quite remember why, but he was very sure of this. More sure than he had been when the closest he’d been to one of these bad animals had been a hundred feet away, crouched behind rocks in the dark and hidden by the long shadows made by their fire. They had found him and he was in their clutches, powerless. The pain made logic disappear and his instincts take over.

Rhett laid still, breathing shallowly, mind racing, until numbness stole over him once again. Time passed. The person came and went and came again. Many people came and went again. He began to have a sense of where he was, in the roughest sense. It was like a bedroom. A bedroom was a room in a house where people slept. It was much like a cave.

Rhett opened his eyes but did not see. He was floating, feeling funny like he did whenever the bad people in white put a new bag on the big metal stand by his bed. The bag had liquid in it and a tube that connected to the back of his hand. He felt like his body was made of the thick sticky substance that came from the trees with thin needles instead of leaves. This was very bad, but it also made the pain go away and that was very good. With his eyes open he dreamed of his home and the good smells of fresh air and cooking fish and musty fur. 

The liquid in the plastic bag was draining away. Draining into him? There was no pain in his hand, and he wondered how the liquid could get in. If there was a hole, it would hurt. Like a bite mark. Or a scorpion sting. 

The face of his mate swam before him, the helpless creature that had fallen on the ground in the desert and ended up engulfing his entire life. Rhett felt a rush of love and hurt at once. 

Rhett opened his eyes and it was much later.

Somebody had taken off the clothes he wore and put on a funny light blue thing that was like his fur but worn backward. He did not like it but it was better than jeans and tight shirts. 

“I‘d like to get another X-ray of the femur right here near the hip joint,“ a person was saying to another female. “Can we get that set up?”

“You suspect intertrochantic fracture?”

“They often don’t show up on the first X-ray. We’ll try again.”

“We could get him in for an MRI.”

“It would be tough. We don’t know his mental state. When conscious he is disoriented and doesn’t seem to respond to English, though he’s been heard speaking it at night. We were told he understands the language.”

“When was it decided that the restraints were necessary?”

“He didn’t let us insert a catheter. When he became hostile we administered a sedative and made sure he was restrained to avoid any incidents.” 

“It was so weird,” another voice said as the first female left the room. Her tone was conspiratorial. “He was like a dog or something, growling at Susie and Mark. I was so scared. I mean, I hate to say it, but thank god he was injured, or else I really think he would have hurt somebody.”

Rhett tried to open his eyes. _I don’t want to hurt anybody,_ he thought. _I just want to be free. I just want to live. Let me live._ He wanted to say it out loud, but could only manage a low noise. The people stopped talking and one of them hurriedly began to do something on his arm that hurt faintly.

“Nasty cut, there,” Rhett heard her say. “He’s lucky, though. Could have been a lot worse.”

Darkness was engulfing him again. Rhett fought it this time, feeling stronger, but it took him anyway. The days and nights were one and Rhett slept.

How did he get here, to this room?

_I’ve been here before._

But that was another time, another place. Many seasons ago, before he was big, before he had ever stumbled across the crystal-clear lake in the desert and flopped on his stomach at its edge to gulp greedily, the cold good on his burned skin. His life had come to him in three important pieces; the time Before, with his mom and dad and family, and then the desert, and then the time after he’d found the beautiful human near his cave and cared for him until they became mates. It was Link who had called him _Rhett_. Somehow his mate had remembered the Before time, when they’d known each other as fellow small humans. It was Link who had taught him to speak again and to get in touch with the part of himself that always felt like a foreigner in the desert, the part that liked to ask questions and wonder about things past and present like other animals never did.

He remembered Link, naked in the darkness at the lake’s edge, with the wind making his damp skin have goose bumps, touching Rhett’s hardness. Link’s voice resonated in his chest and surrounded him, fading in and out as time went on.

Rhett opened his eyes. He was in bed. It was late to be in bed. It was daytime. The sky was a clear blue from what he could see out of his window. Rhett did not know where he was, only that he’d been asleep and dreaming for a long time. There was something very wrong, but he couldn’t remember what it was, so he pushed the feeling to the back of his mind. It was a new day to spend with his beautiful mate.

Link was sleeping in the chair beside him. Rhett smiled at the sight. _Silly Link can sleep anywhere._ The man’s mouth was slightly open and his eyes had dark circles beneath them. Rhett wanted to sit up and go kiss him until he woke up smiling but he found that he could not move from the bed. It was not his and Link’s bed and this was not Link’s house. The realization was like a drop of ice-cold rain on his naked back. 

Rhett tried to speak but found his throat was very dry. He managed to make a strangled noise, and Link gave a start and jerked upward in his chair.

“Rhett,” he gasped, rising unsteadily. “Are you okay?”

Rhett tried again. His lips felt big and clumsy and it felt like he’d forgotten how to make words properly. “Link,” he croaked. “Link?”

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s Link.” Link’s hand was shaking as he stroked Rhett’s hair. “How do you feel? Are you in any pain?”

“Little pain. In my head and in my leg.” Like many animals Rhett knew the secret to being seen as strong was to overcome any pains even if they hurt bad. “Where…where am I?” 

“You’re in a hospital, Rhett.”

“What’s a hospital?” 

“It’s a place where they take care of sick people.”

“Am I sick?”

“Yes, baby.” Link’s voice sounded strange. Was he crying? “You’re gonna be okay. The worst is over.”

“I can’t move my leg, Link,” Rhett complained. “It’s itchy and it hurts when I try to move it.”

“Don’t try to move it. It’s broken.”

“Broken?” Rhett echoed. His legs were very, very sturdy. He could jump down from cliffs and run fast and even fall hard and not break his arms or legs. “How?”

“Do you remember anything?” Link asked instead, looking a little frightened. “Do you remember what happened at…at your lake?”

 _My lake. The big water place. The good place with the red fruit and the seed trees and the sandy beach. Or did it have a seed tree? It was…it had been…_

Flash of gigantic human machines, crushing and destroying. Nausea rose in Rhett’s throat and he gagged, a loud hacking noise that echoed in the small room. He sat up quickly.

Link hastily reached beside him and came up with a paper bag. “Here, here,” he said. “Are you gonna hurl?”

Rhett shook his head quickly, gasping air. He fought the feeling and won.

“Lay back down, baby,” Link tried a smile but his eyes were worried. “Take it easy.”

“Take what easy?” Rhett asked, confused, holding out his hand to take whatever Link was talking about. 

Link’s exhausted face made a tiny smile. “That’s more like the Rhett I know.” He put his own hand in the one Rhett stretched toward him. “It’s an expression. I meant, don’t move too much.” His voice was sweet but Rhett felt mistrustful. 

_It’s just a road,_ Link had said before. _We can go back and talk about it._

As if silly human talk could ever change anything.

Rhett flinched away from Link’s hand and the other man drew back sharply like he was scared Rhett was a snake about to lunge. Was he scared of Rhett? Or was it the other way around? When Rhett thought about his home and looked at Link’s face he felt an unfamiliar and horrible emotion inside himself. It was called anger, he knew, and he’d never known how powerful it was. But, even then, he wanted to put hands on Link and have Link put hands on him and love him. The feelings were opposite like night and day but they were also one. 

“Are you okay?” Link asked hoarsely. He didn’t meet Rhett’s eyes. The tension between them was suddenly thick as mud.

“I feel angry,” Rhett told him. “I love you, but I feel angry too.”

“Angry with me.” It wasn’t a question.

“Maybe.” Rhett felt very tired even though he’d already slept a lot. “I just am being honest. What happened to me?”

“They were…” Link hesitated. “The construction crew. They were blasting rock away to build a road through where your cave was.”

The words made no sense at first. Rhett just stared at him blankly. “My cave…They make the road, right through my cave? They can go around!”

“They said you must have climbed over a fence and ignored the warning signs.”

Rhett remembered suddenly, like a branch slapping him in the face. “I wanted to go home.” His eyes felt like they were burning. “They wouldn’t let me go home. How did my leg get hurt?”

“You were…you were beneath a cliff when some rock was dislodged. A lot of rock. It fell on you.”

Rhett started to shake his head, then stopped. His brain seemed to be working more normally now and he remembered more and more. The words on the sign were stupid. Rhett paid them no mind. He’d been running, he recalled, running from Link and the other bad animals, running to the only home he’d ever known. The only place he’d ever belonged. When the sound came, he thought that he was hearing thunder, the loudest thunder he had ever heard in his life. So loud that it had made rocks from the small mountain fall down, big boulders hitting first followed by a smattering of pebbles. Rhett had gotten down on his hands and knees, frightened, rock dust and sand in his eyes feeling for the opening of his cave that would protect him from the loud sounds. Then the world became a rush of heat and pain and darkness eating at the corners of his vision, swallowing him right up. 

Link was talking again. “I didn’t know what to do when I couldn’t find you. I heard the explosives going off, and I panicked. I tried to yell over to the construction crew but they didn’t hear me. So I called 911 and told them somebody might have trespassed in the area when the explosives had gone off.”

“That is the number for police,” Rhett said. Link had taught him that. “Did you tell them that they were ruining the land?”

“It’s not a crime to do construction.”

“It should be. Humans do not live there. Why do they need another road? There are roads all over.” Rhett had to swallow what felt like a big lump in his throat as the truth sank in. He was never going home. His home was gone. 

“I don’t know. They must have a plan. Maybe they’re planning on…I don’t know, expanding one of the little towns out there, or…or maybe there‘s a new project in the works…”

“Why? What is it?”

“I don’t know, okay?”

“You can find out. You can ask.”

“I don’t know who to ask.” There was a bit of an edge to Link’s voice, like he got when Rhett asked pointed questions about human laws and rules.

“I wanted to fight the bad people,” Rhett said. “The bad people who saw a beautiful lake and ruined the good food plants. I will fight them.”

“It’s not their fault. They didn’t know a person used to live there. And I told you, it wasn’t their decision. Someone else wanted the road made and hired them to do it.”

“They had a choice. They can say, No, I do not want to make this road.”

“And lose their jobs?”

“There are other jobs. Like how Link is an engineer.”

“You can’t just wake up and decide to be an engineer. You have to go to school and spend a lot of money, and then find a place that’s hiring and maybe buy a new house and move to another city - ”

Rhett felt frustration. “I was making an example. Maybe the bad people could build other things if they know how to build. Like houses in cities that are already there.”

“You don’t get it, okay? Why would most people care about the desert? The way they see it, they’re only affecting a pretty small area, and making it better for people that want to drive through.”

“You do not understand, Link. You think like…like a bad human.”

“You’re the one that doesn’t understand,” Link shot back.

“It is my home. It _was_ my home.” Saying it that way made it feel real for the first time. There was no more cave. No more lake to swim in beneath the stars.

Link bit his lip. His eyes went to Rhett’s hurt leg, then to the bandage on his arm and the tube going into the back of his hand. “I don’t want to do this,” he said lowly. “You’re hurt. It‘s not right.”

Rhett did not know what to say. He wished he could kiss Link on the lips, but the angry part of him did not want to touch the bad human who would not understand. “I do not want to fight either,” Rhett said. “It is hard to say the right things when I am so sad inside.”

“I’m sorry,” Link mumbled, looking directly at Rhett for the first time.

“I do not know what to think anymore,“ Rhett went on. “When I first saw you I wanted to attack. You were walking near my cave and I was scared. All animals are scared to see people. I think it is because we know what you can do. How much hurt you can make.”

“Rhett…”

“You looked good and smelled good, so I took you inside my cave because I had the idea of having a mate. You looked the same as me, the same body, more or less. All I wanted was to bring you food and keep you safe. I made your hurt go away and eventually you touched me and wanted to mate with me, and I thought…I thought maybe you’d want to be with me in my cave from then on. But you had other ideas.”

Link looked down at his feet.

“I went with you to the bad place because I loved you so much,” Rhett finished. “But sometimes I do not think it was the right thing to do.”

“I wanted to…to civilize you. To bring you somewhere safe where you‘d be protected.”

“Protected?” Rhett laughed. “Protected from what?” The only danger in his life had been the bad animals. The humans. And instead of escaping them he’d gone right into their den and tried to live among them.

“Humans aren’t meant to live in the desert,” Link answered instead, his voice firm but somehow hollow, as if even he didn‘t really believe what he was saying. “What if you went hungry? What if you got sick?”

“Both of those things happened many times.” Rhett lifted the hand that the tube was draining into. “I was fine. This would not have happened if humans did not do this to me.”

“What if you’d died, Rhett?”

“Dying is normal,” Rhett answered simply. “It will happen to all of us no matter where we live.”

“Yeah, but most of us hope to go from old age, not from a scorpion sting or heatstroke.”

Rhett did not want to fight, but Link was making it very difficult. “Maybe the people I saw on the TV box who died from the big explosion wanted to die from old age. The big explosion made by other people, because of war.”

“That’s not - That’s not really an accurate representation of living in society,” Link said, his brow furrowing. “It doesn’t happen here.”

“You told me that wars happen all over the world, all the time. I can read words on the computer and I see all the time, people murdering other people here in this land.”

“But - ”

“Last week, the day we made blueberry pancakes, there were five humans killed by a man in the place here that humans call California, right?”

“That man was crazy. Mentally ill. Sick in the brain.”

“If humans are so good, why did they not take care of him, instead of letting him buy the things humans use to kill each other?”

“I just wanted us to be normal!” Link cried out. “I just wanted you to be happy. Most people would have done what I did. I wasn‘t trying to hurt you.”

“What is _normal_?”

Link didn’t answer for a long time. His face was red and his hair was messy from where he’d been running a hand through it. 

“Link?”

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “I guess…I guess you’re more normal than most of the people I know. Will you come back home with me when you’re healed?”

“Where else would I go?”

Link’s jaw set in a way that showed he was fighting back tears. There was a very long silence. “Do you _want_ to come back home with me?”

“If there is no choice, then there is no reason to want or not want something.”

This was the wrong answer. Rhett saw that he was causing hurt. Part of him was horrified…but another part of him felt good that he was not alone in his pain. 

“I can give you a good life,” Link said after a while, his voice flat. “Even if you want to…to break up, we can try to be friends, and I…I’ll pay for you to have an apartment or something. I can sell my car and get something cheaper, and I don’t need a whole house to myself, either…”

“An apartment?”

“A smaller type of house.” Link looked at his hands. He was picking at the skin around his thumbnail unconsciously. When Rhett didn’t respond, he went on. “You probably wouldn’t like it. You like to be outside, in a backyard…”

Rhett couldn’t keep his eyes open and he began to drift again.

“God, what a mess,” Link said in a low voice. “What have I done? What am I going to do? I prayed all night and nobody answered.”

Link prayed to God sometimes, or Jesus, Rhett couldn’t remember which. _My mom prayed, too. She prayed not to have me die before her._ Was God the reason that he did not die in the desert and did not get hurt more by the falling rock? Why didn’t God look out for his mother and father, then? Was there another God who wasn’t so…human?

Rhett’s thoughts were beginning to circle around and around, swirling down into incoherency as the pain swelled up and made him tired again.

“I love you,” Link whispered, kneeling on the edge of Rhett’s bed. “I know you’re angry with me, and you have every right to be, but I want you to know that I will always love you no matter what. And I will do everything I can to help you. You’ve helped me so much. You taught me that I was worth loving. That I should be confident with myself. And in return I put you in a cage. I bought you toys, and I gave you food, and then I left you in a house you hate all day and tried to pretend that I was being a good friend. ” 

“Do not cry,” Rhett said with alarm. “Link! Do not…oh.” He felt like crying too. “I hurt Link,” he groaned, anguished as the memories came flooding back. “I pushed you. In the desert, when I fell down, and you came to help. I pushed you and made you fall.”

“You didn’t mean to. You told me to stay away. I didn’t listen.”

“You only wanted to help,” Rhett repeated. That part, at least, he did believe.

“Seems like all I do is try to help, and every time I end up making things worse.”

“Human logic,” Rhett said. “Human thinking. It is no good for you.”

“I can’t help who I am.”

“And I cannot help who I am. I am not like you. You are my mate,” Rhett said quietly. “And I love you. I love you as much as I love being free. But I do not think we can pretend to be two normal humans in the big city.”

“Yes, we can. If you love me, be with me. Live with me. Try to be happy. We’ll take trips, go to the beach…” Link looked pretty in the light of the window, even with his tired face and messy hair. Rhett studied the lines of his mouth, his jaw, his stubbly cheeks and scrunched eyebrows. Deep inside he felt strongly that he needed Link close to him, always. He felt it as strongly as he felt the need to live back when he was small and in the desert for the first time. 

“Be with me, instead,” Rhett countered. “Come, Link. We will find a new place in the desert. We will leave behind the bad job and Mr. Snyder and men like Max and your parents who did not love you.”

“I can’t.”

“I know you can’t,” Rhett said. “So I know that you know how it feels, to want two things at once.”

There was another long silence. 

“I’m happy with my life,” Link said slowly, “and you were happy with yours. Is this how it ends, then?”

Rhett gave him a look. “Since when have you been happy with your life?”

Link began to speak, and then stopped. His eyes were wet. “Since I met you, I guess.”

A person in blue - a nurse, Rhett knew - tapped lightly at the closed door. They both looked at her. She showed Link ten fingers, smiled, and disappeared from sight.

“You’re being prepped for surgery in ten minutes,” Link said, suddenly alarmed. He wiped his eyes. “I should have told you right away, but - They’re going to put a titanium piece on your leg.”

Rhett was alarmed. “In my hurt leg? What is titanium?”

“It’s hard metal. To make the bone heal properly,” explained Link. “They’ll make you go to sleep, don’t worry. I know you don‘t trust people, but - ” 

“These people are being paid money to help,“ Rhett said. “Humans love money.“

Link looked pained. “Maybe they also really do want you to feel better.”

Rhett recalled the massive buildings humans could make and the machines that could hold a hundred people and fly through the air. Making a bone for a leg would not be so hard. He could tell by Link’s face that the man was worried about him and feeling sorry for the things they said.

“Will you be here when I wake up again?”

“I will,” said his mate. “I have to make a few phone calls and run to get something to eat, but I’ll come back for you. I won’t let you be alone.”

Loneliness could hurt bad. Rhett would have laughed at the idea before he met Link, but now he knew it was true. “What phone calls?” he asked instead. 

A person - a nurse, they were called, came in and smiled at the two of them. Rhett knew she was there to take him to the surgery. For a bad human, she had a pretty face and a kind smile.

“I have an idea,” Link said slowly. “It’s crazy, it’s improbable, but…”

“What idea?”

“I’ll tell you when you wake up,” Link told him, looking flustered now. His hands were shaking and his eyes were full of both fear and exhilaration. Rhett cocked his head to the side and made his mate grin tentatively.

“Just trust me,” Link said. “Try to trust me. I’m gonna fix the mess I’ve made out of both of our lives.” 

Rhett saw honesty in his mate’s face. “I trust you,” he said, believing again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The bed had wheels to move it around. The nurse made his bed move toward the door. Rhett held the image of his mate’s face in his mind as he stared at the bland white ceiling above, letting Link’s smile warm him.

He was not beaten. He was not afraid. Rhett took his anger and his betrayal and his love all at once and made them into focus. They had taken his home, but they could not take his life. They could not take his desert. Or his mate.

_You’re gonna beat this, baby, you’re my little fighter._


	13. Eternity

The two hours that Rhett spent in the operating room were the longest hours of Link’s life, and not even the phone call that had just transpired could take his mind off the thought of Rhett in pain, his well-being in the hands of strangers who repulsed and frightened the feral man. When the waiting room grew stifling Link began to walk aimlessly, his path taking him in a wide circle back around to an atrium that featured a fountain and real greenery on tiered wall balconies. A disoriented bee tapped at the glass. 

Link sat on one of the long wooden benches, blinking dazedly in the real sunlight. The sky overhead was a beautiful blue. _Too beautiful. It should rain, it should be an ugly and dark day for once._ A family strolled by, the woman heavily pregnant and the man pushing a stroller, and their laughter sounded like mockery. 

The lazy burble of the fountain was hypnotizing. It was a modern design, a raised black rectangle with an elevated platform within, making the edges of the water appear seamless. _Rhett’s lake was turquoise by day, but black at night, the reflections of stars brighter than diamonds._ His mind turned back, again, to Rhett under the knife, his broken leg being screwed back together by the practiced hands of the patient old surgeon who had spoken gently to Link about the procedure before his visit to his lover’s small, ugly hospital room. 

_Flowers. He needs flowers, to brighten the empty bedside table. He always loved to bring me flowers…_

There was a sign advertising the gift shop on the next level where the main entrance was. Surely they would have flowers. Link made himself stand up from the hard bench and walked slowly up the stairs, thinking of purple desert asters and blue forget-me-nots and the way Rhett had smiled with his cheeks when he’d tucked a dandelion behind Link’s ear, his eyes warm and full of a love that was more pure than Link could have ever imagined. 

The gift shop was somehow somber and cheery at the same time. Customers talked in hushed, respectful voices as they browsed slowly through the balloons and teddy bears and ‘get well soon’ cards. There were brilliant carnations, lilies, Gerbera daisies and roses of every colour that came in bouquets big enough to need two arms to carry. The bright lights above the cash register made his head hurt…or perhaps that was the effort of holding back tears for so many days. He hadn’t wanted to let himself cry. He needed to present some semblance of strength in case Rhett woke suddenly and needed him. 

A bolt of pain knifed through his left eye and lodged somewhere in his brain like a throbbing tumour. Link forced himself to bear through it and bought a bouquet of yellow Peruvian lilies, yellow daisies, traditional white daisies, and bright red roses. Rhett was fond of yellow. The well-thumbed flower guide the cashier provided told him that white daisies symbolized purity and innocence; yellow daisies, vitality. Peruvian lilies meant devotion. And of course, red roses symbolized love - he didn’t need a guide to tell him _that_. Link put his nose into the bouquet and inhaled the sweet light fragrance as he left the shop. 

Feeling somewhat bolstered by the thought of giving Rhett his gift, he picked up a large coffee with sugar and cream near the main entrance and brought it back upstairs with him. The hospital had free Wireless internet, which meant Link had a chance to try and make his life-altering idea a reality by starting some careful research. He made himself a little study area and began taking notes and emailing likely contacts. The busywork made him stop watching the second hand revolve slowly around the merciless clock face mounted on the opposite wall.

After a series of back-and-forth emails and some major progress on his goal, Link felt semi-human again. With his hand on his chin he pondered over his plan, so absorbed that he didn’t hear the heels clicking gently on tile. 

“Link?” came a soft, gently accented voice. Several of the nurses knew him by name now. Link’s heart stilled for a moment and he looked up to see the short, plump woman with the neat brown bobbed hair, whose name he could never pronounce. She was smiling. 

“Yes?” he managed to ask without his voice cracking. _If it was bad news, she wouldn’t look so happy,_ he reassured himself. His headache was fading and tendrils of hope crept back in.

“There were no complications at all,“ she said heartily. “They’re waking him up and will be bringing him back to his room to recover. It’ll be about ten minutes before he’s conscious enough for visitors, and he may still be dazed and very forgetful.”

“Thank you,” Link gasped, exhaling with relief. When he went to stand up, his forgotten laptop nearly fell to the ground. He made a desperate grab and caught it by the tips of his fingers, laughing weakly at himself. His legs were rubber. “Ten minutes, you said? And then I can go right in?”

“You can go in now, and wait there,” she said. “He can see those flowers right away. How thoughtful.” She paused. “A very special friend, yes?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Link told her instantly without an ounce of self-consciousness. Even after coming to terms with his sexuality so many years ago, it had taken Rhett’s courage to bring him to the point of being able to tell strangers and new acquaintances that he was gay. Rhett had no concept of shame, which had been disconcerting to Link at first. Now, he envied the wild man for his independence. 

Her smile only grew. “You remember which room?”

Link had been here for more hours than he cared to count. He knew this entire wing of the hospital like the back of his hand. “I do, thank you.”

Ten minutes seemed like an eternity. Link sat down and tried to keep his face neutral. He’d bitten the inside of his cheek to shreds in his anxiety and he couldn’t keep his tongue from poking at the damage. If Rhett woke up and didn’t remember where he was, and had another outburst, they would put him in the restraints again. Link didn’t want that to happen. He couldn’t stay by Rhett’s side forever. To have to leave Rhett to recover, alone and tied to the bed like a vicious dog, was unthinkable.

Link clamped his fiddling hands down firmly upon his thighs, gripping hard enough to bruise, and focused on breathing.

The distinctive murmuring rattle of wheels could be heard at some distance. Link leaned forward in his chair. When the door opened and he saw Rhett’s sleepy yet calm face, the rest of the world ceased to matter. Link didn’t even look at the nurse, or notice when he or she left. He had eyes only for the tall, golden-haired god in the faded cornflower-blue hospital gown. Link wanted to kiss him so badly it hurt. 

When he reached out to touch Rhett’s shoulder the man came to life quickly, as if he had just been taking a light nap rather than having surgery. Rhett sat up, stretched, and blinked several times. “Link,” he said in a slightly strained voice. He cleared his throat and tried again, sounding stronger. “Is it over?”

“It’s over,” Link reassured him, grateful that he sounded like somewhat like his usual self. _He needs me to be strong._ “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Rhett said confidently. “But a little like I was in the sun too long.” He rubbed at his eyes, then leaned over to examine his bandaged leg. The big man recovered from trauma with a strength that Link would later learn stunned the nurses and surgeon alike. If he felt pain, nausea, or dizziness, he didn’t let it show. It reminded Link of the way animals would hide their weakness to avoid becoming a target. Link’s chest hurt as he thought of the other pains Rhett had hid from him so well. His homesickness, the feelings of entrapment and resentment…and all the while, Link had been concocting some sort of irrational domestic bliss in his head, the idea that their arrangement could go on forever. _You were like those misguided Spanish colonialists, kidnapping the Native children and congratulating yourself on bringing civilization to a savage._ The thought stung.

“Do you need anything?” he asked quickly.

“I am very, very hungry,” Rhett told him firmly. “I need good fish. Halibut fish.”

Link had to smile. “I don’t think halibut is on the menu for today. You’re stuck with hospital food, baby.”

“Ask if they have fish.” Rhett laid back against the pillow and looked distastefully at the bandage on his hand where the IV was inserted. “Will they take this out?”

“Soon, I think. And I don’t think you’d like the fish they’d make here.” Link imagined the indignant face Rhett would make when they presented him with the sad little plastic tray of food. His smile grew. _Even now, he can still make me smile. I‘ll make sure to sneak him some food when I see him next._

“I do not remember the last time I ate,” Rhett went on. “It must have been a long time ago.”

“You want some water?”

Rhett nodded. His lips did look a little dry. 

“Drink it slow,” Link warned as he handed Rhett the cold water bottle he’d bought in the vending machine outside. “The stuff that made you go to sleep can mess up your stomach when you wake up.”

“Stomach feels good.” Rhett drank long and deep. When he set the bottle down, he looked at Link in a careful, calculating way.

Link didn‘t know what to say. _We need to talk about what happened,_ he thought, but instead he chickened out and said, “They’ve been keeping you hydrated with that IV,” Link nodded at the tube leading to the back of Rhett’s hand. “And before that…”

Link had cradled Rhett’s head in the crook of his arm, stroking the sweat-damp neck until he woke up enough to swallow the bean salad without choking. They had been in the hospital bed together, even though the nurses had warned Link against it for fear of the big man having another outburst. Rhett hadn’t reacted well to strangers touching him, poking him with needles and taking X-rays and moving his hurt leg. Remembering his own violent reaction to Rhett’s attempt at healing the sting on his ankle, Link couldn’t help but sympathize - though he couldn’t argue when the nurses wanted to put him in restraints, despite how awful it made him feel when they went on. Rhett was a large and intimidating man.

“I fed you,” Link told him softly. “You were pretty out of it. I‘m not surprised you don‘t remember.”

Rhett’s posture relaxed. He looked into Link‘s eyes. “I remember feeding _you_ , some time ago. The fruit. The prickly pear.”

Link smiled at the memory and felt his heart break a little for the pure and wild being that Rhett had been. Seeing him like this, with his leg bound in bandages and his eyes ringed by dark circles on pale skin, the deep desert tan having faded some time ago, made Link feel even worse. “I remember that, too.”

 _I can’t change what I did, but I can stop making us both live a lie._ The knowledge of the journey he would have to take was daunting. He could only hope that he could be as brave as Rhett.

“When do I go back to the house?” Rhett asked.

“You’ll be released pretty soon. You’re gonna have to be on crutches for a while, though. Maybe a wheelchair.”

Rhett made a face. He probably didn’t recognize either term but could guess their meaning easily enough.

“I’m sorry,” Link said softly. _For everything._ “Oh, god, Rhett, your home…your poor leg…” 

“It is not your fault.” Rhett touched his skin where the bandages ended. “You didn’t do it. I always worried about humans being too close to my cave. When humans come, the animals are driven off, and then I do not eat. And the sign…the sign said not to climb the fence.” He hesitated. “If I am human, I need to follow human rules. I need to be…normal. Like you said.”

Link’s back straightened and he felt a bite of his old fire. Rhett sounded so resigned - nothing like the fiercely opinionated man he knew and loved. “ _Fuck_ normal,” he argued. “I’ve been trying to be normal for my entire life. I’m sick of it. You were _happy_ being free, and I was a miserable old bachelor with no friends or family, tryin’ to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.”

Rhett looked surprised. “But you said - ”

“I know what I said. I was wrong.”

“Maybe…maybe not wrong, for most people. It is good sometimes to belong and to do things the way human society wants. But I am different, Link. And I think you are, too. I am sorry that I said you think like a bad human.”

“Don’t apologize.” Link leaned forward and kissed Rhett above the eyebrow, which he knew made the big man shiver every time. 

Rhett‘s cheeks were pink when Link pulled away. He blinked several times as if to compose himself. “Flowers,” he said suddenly, noticing the vase beside his bed. “From Link?”

“Nope,” Link deadpanned. “They’re from that cute nurse who was eyeing you as he changed your IV bag.”

Rhett laughed. “The man with the black curly hair? He is not as cute as my Link.”

“Shameless flattery.”.

“No. The truth.“ Rhett raised a hand. “Can I smell the flowers?”

“Sure.” Link picked up the vase and brought it close to Rhett’s nose. Rhett closed his eyes as if savouring the smell of nature.

“This place is bad,” Rhett said without opening his eyes. “But the people…the people are nice. More nice than I thought.” He paused. “How can humans be so good, and yet so bad and stupid?”

“I don’t know.” 

Rhett looked at the ceiling. “My home is gone,“ he reflected. “Link, if I did not have you, I would be lost.”

Link bit the inside of his lip. The man sounded so sincere. “I love you. I’ll always be there for you.“ He held Rhett’s hand, stroking circles with his thumb, until the man’s eyelids began to droop.

“I am tired,” Rhett said, yawning.

“I should let you sleep.”

“I want to come home with you.”

“I want that, too.” Link shifted from the chair to the edge of the bed, sitting awkwardly with the small amount of space there. He pressed his hand to Rhett’s cheek and the man pushed his face into the touch like a cat. The skin was hot. “You need another beard trim.”

“You need a shave,” Rhett returned, grinning. 

Link lowered his hand and let his rough cheek touch Rhett’s face instead. He hadn’t had time to shave. He hadn’t had time or energy to shower, either. Or eat. The coffee sloshed around in his stomach restlessly. The discomfort was quickly quenched by warmth as Rhett kissed his cheekbone tenderly. 

“You don’t have to shave,” Rhett decided, looking at him askance. “I like it.”

Rhett’s hot breath on his skin made Link feel wicked. “Maybe I’ll shave somewhere else then.” He laughed at Rhett’s wide-eyed look. “Still sleepy?”

“Still sleepy, but now I am a little excited, too. Not fair when you are about to leave.”

“Uh-oh. Don’t go kissing that nurse while I’m gone.”

“I only kiss you.”

“His name is _Felipe_.” Link exaggerated the accent. “I must look pretty plain next to him.” 

It wasn’t a good thing to say. He did not realize, as Rhett did, that he often jokingly made self-deprecating comments when he was feeling low and ashamed of himself.

Rhett blinked once and the lines on his forehead deepened. “Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, either. I love you.” Rhett was fading fast. His eyes went from Link’s face to the flowers he’d bought, and back to Link again.

“I love you, too.”

The small house was quiet when he returned home. Dust motes danced in the sunbeams shining through the living room window. Rhett’s big shoes were next to the back door, and for a moment Link thought that he could just walk into the backyard and see his lover there, barefoot in the grass, watching the birdbath and birdfeeder Link had bought to please him. His throat constricted and he eased himself away from the negative thoughts. _Focus. You have work to do. Rhett believes in you. You can’t fall apart now._

There were many phone calls to make and applications to get through. Link put the coffee maker on and prepared for a long day. It occurred to him that he would have never had the strength to undertake this mission before he’d met Rhett. 

Link took a deep breath, and dialled the first number.

**

It took four days for Rhett to be released from the hospital, on crutches so tall that they nearly came up to Link‘s eye level. The broken leg was likely to heal just fine, they said. The contusions and bruises were of little concern. Rhett had many existing scars and had been through much worse. As they drove home, he chatted happily to Link about the time he’d fallen against a cholla cactus that drove its spines an inch deep in his thigh. Link was practically bursting at the seams to drop his bombshell but let Rhett lead the conversation for the time being. 

They walked up the porch steps carefully, Link trailing behind to catch Rhett in case the crutches proved too difficult to navigate. Once inside, Rhett shuffled to the couch, and Link went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of the wine he’d picked up for the occasion.

Rhett drank eagerly as Link held the glass by the stem and watched the way the light from the window shone a crimson shadow through the liquid.

“You want to talk about something,” Rhett observed as he set his glass down.

“You could say that.” Link breathed deep. “I think…I think I’ve been going at this all wrong. You don’t want to live in the city and get a regular job. I had thought you’d come around if I made you happy enough…”

“It’s not you,” Rhett broke in. “You are my mate, and I love you. I came with you because I wanted to be with you more than I wanted my home.”

“It was a choice you made without knowing what life you were going to have. It was a choice I made for you, flippantly, out of some desire to save you from the wilderness. I didn’t understand that you didn’t need saving.”

“Maybe not,” Rhett admitted, “but I needed something. I needed a mate. Humans mostly have mates. Some part of me knew. Otherwise I would have run from you.”

Link didn’t know how to answer. _Maybe you should have._

The blond read his face easily. “You want me to go back to the desert.”

“Isn’t that what you want?”

Rhett looked unsure. “I want…I want my home, and I want you. But you live in this big city, far away from my desert, and you have to work much during the week. It is not possible to have both of the things I want.”

This time Link was ready. “What if I lived somewhere else?”

“In another house?”

“In another city.”

“Another city.“ Rhett didn’t sound excited. “What will you do with this old house?”

“I’m going to put it up for sale,” Link said mildly, hiding his anxiety and his fear under a careful mask. He watched Rhett’s eyes to see his reaction.

“For sale? For someone else to buy?” Rhett squinted. 

“Yep.” Link felt a grin tug at the corners of his mouth.

Rhett looked startled. “Are you going to live in your car?”

Link was startled into laughter. The sound brightened the whole room. “Well, I sure hope not. I’m asking for a lot. Real estate’s gone up in value. If I get even ten thousand under what I’m asking, I’ll still make a heck of a profit.”

“More money?” Rhett asked with feigned interest, though his tone was flat.

“Quite a lot of money.”

“Good for you.” 

_He doesn’t get it._ It was time to let it out, before Rhett grew too irritated with him. “I got accepted into a hairstyling apprenticeship program. In Needles, California.”

Rhett was lost. He looked at Link’s nervous grin. “Needles..?”

“It’s on the eastern side of the Mojave Desert. Your desert, Rhett. A ways east, but the same desert.” Though it hurt, it had to be said. “You don’t have to live in a city any more. We’ll find a new cave for you, near a lake, or maybe just near a spring. There’s mountains and small lakes. I‘ll be nearby. We can visit each other. And if you don’t like it I’ll take you somewhere else. We’ll figure something out and you’ll sleep at my place in the meantime. I’m going to rent a small house for cheap and then find a property to buy if I like the area. If I don’t, there are other places. Lake Havasu City, maybe, though it‘s a bit further away. Still an easy drive out to the desert where you‘ll be. As long as I can find work after I’m done my program… You know, there’s a lot of places that are easy to get to that are close to wide-open wilderness areas.”

“Link…” Rhett’s eyes were growing wide.

“I’ve got it all figured out,” Link said, almost tripping over his words in his rush to get them out. “I’ll give you a set of clothing…a flare gun if you ever do need to signal for help…If you see humans and you can’t hide, or if they’re state authorities or something, you can just put on the clothing and pretend to be a hiker…and give them my address if they question you. You know English, you can communicate, nobody is going to suspect that you‘re really living in the desert. You‘ll be safe from society. Free. And free to be with me, too.”

“Your job,” Rhett said suddenly. “What about the job you have that makes a lot of money?”

“I asked my boss for a few more days off to see you. I told him that my partner had been hurt. He told me that he didn’t care, and that if he didn’t see me in the office on Tuesday I’d be fired. The way he kept repeating the word _partner_ \- I didn’t like his tone. I told him that it was impossible to fire me, because I quit.” Link paused, the corners of his mouth being tugged upward. “Then I called him an asshole and hung up on him.”

Rhett’s face broke out in a full grin. “Link!”

Link giggled. “I guess it wasn’t very professional…but by God, it felt _good._ I mean, when Mark‘s wife got her kidney out, he got a whole week off, plus he‘d just taken a week‘s holiday without notice, but Mr. Snyder likes to play favourites and I‘ve always wondered if it was because I‘m gay. Before I met you I was more self-conscious, so I always dismissed that idea and told myself I must just be more stupid, annoying, maybe so unbearable that he just couldn‘t stand me. But I‘ve been great to that company. I‘ve busted my butt for a long time. Good riddance.”

“So you are going to be a hairstylist,” Rhett mused. “It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

It still felt too unreal to be true. “I am,” Link said firmly. He had to believe in himself.

“And I am going to have you on weekends, and you can drive to see me, and take me to your place to stay sometimes?”

“I hope you find somewhere within an hour’s drive. There’s a couple small towns - hamlets, really - that I could drive to and park at, like I did with the gas station near your old home.”

“But first you’ll be going to school. Meeting people. Without me.” 

“What’s wrong, Rhett?”

“What if you meet someone else?” Rhett asked quietly, his tone unusually meek. “What if you meet a normal human who can be with you all the time, while I am out in the desert, far away from you?”

“I promise.“ Link’s mouth went dry. This wasn’t what he planned - it seemed a little anti-climactic to do this in his own living room - but suddenly the little box in his pocket seemed to pulse. His fingers slipped down to grasp it. “Remember when we talked about how humans who want to be together forever do this thing - this ceremony?”

Rhett was watching the bulge of Link’s hand in his pocket suspiciously. “I remember. About how people had to fight so that two men or two women could do the same thing as one man and one woman.”

“That’s right. People who love each other often get married, to prove their loyalty and love. It’s a pretty important thing. People who aren’t serious generally don’t get married or want to marry you. That’s why I’ve dated and lived with people before, but never got married. And the girl I dated in college - she wanted to after graduation, but I knew I was faking interest in girls and so I never offered. It’s a big deal. It’s a promise between two people. And to God, if you believe in him.”

Rhett nodded, his head tilted as he listened.

Link went on. “Do you remember anything about how people get married?”

Rhett squinted. “Something about rings and fancy clothes, and cake?”

Link laughed. Then he moved their glasses away from the edge of the table and got down on one knee in front of Rhett, the little box open in his palm and held up for Rhett to see.

The band was yellow gold with a brushed centre, no stone, plain but elegant. Rhett stared at it with eyes filled with dawning comprehension. He reached for it tentatively. “This is…for me?”

“Rhett,” Link said, his voice low. “I’m not going to meet anybody else. I don’t want to meet anybody else. I want _you_. Only you. Will you marry me?”

He’d only known the man for a matter of months, but nothing in his life had ever felt more right. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized that God had been with him all along, that their meeting was truly a message, or Fate or Destiny, whatever you wanted to call it.

Rhett’s massive hand extended and Link took it gently. For the first time since Link had known him, the wild man seemed genuinely lost for words. He stared at the ring for a long time. It was a wedding band, not an engagement ring - Link thought it would simplify things, especially since Rhett would have never worn jewellery before, and would probably rough it up quite a bit in the wilderness anyway. It wasn’t traditional, but then again, they weren’t exactly a traditional couple.

A bead of sweat formed at his temple. Link had thought that time could not pass more slowly than it had while waiting for Rhett’s surgery to be over. He was wrong. Tentatively, he looked up into Rhett’s eyes and waited.

Rhett looked at the inscription inside. He did not understand how to read the numerical date format. 

“It’s the day we met, in the first grade, to the day I found you again. The little symbol means eternity. No matter how long we’re apart, we‘ll find each other again.” Maybe it was cheesy. Link didn’t care.

“You want to do this? You want me forever, even though you are a handsome human who could have any man he wanted - maybe a man who makes good money, with a job?”

“Yes,” Link said without a trace of doubt, his eyes holding steady.

“Then I say yes, too,” Rhett said, and Link might have fallen over with relief if he wasn’t able to lean lightly against the table. Both of their hands were trembling. Link slid the ring on the right finger, and the fit was amazingly accurate. 

“It’s so pretty.” Rhett admired the gleam as he turned his hand this way and that. Link kissed his knuckles, and then he was scrambling up to kiss Rhett’s lips, too.

_He said yes. This is real. He said yes._

Rhett’s mouth tasted sweet and his overgrown beard was softer than usual on Link’s face. Link settled most of his weight on the sofa , despite wanting nothing more than to sit in Rhett’s lap. He was mollified by the idea that he would have years to be with Rhett in the future. All the time in the world. To live apart in such a way would be considered crazy and impossible by most people. But then again, the idea that Rhett could have ever survived at all would be considered crazy and impossible by most people. _He’s always beaten the odds and come through a survivor. I can do it, too._

“Link?” Rhett asked, turning to kiss his neck.

“Mmm?” 

“When do I have to wear those fancy clothes?”

Link blinked, laughed, and hugged him hard. “We don’t have to have a wedding if you don’t want us to…but if we do, maybe we can do it on a beach in casual clothes. Some people do that.”

Rhett’s face had lit up at the mention of the beach. “That is a good idea, Link.”

“Although you would look pretty handsome in a tux.” Link kissed him again, remembering the way Rhett had looked when they first met in the desert, with his unabashed nakedness and long tangled hair. The memory made him tingle all over.

Rhett noticed his goose bumps and smiled. “Bed,” he said hopefully. “Link, I want…”

“Me, too. Gosh, me too, you have no idea.”

Link was thankful for the lack of staircases in his home. Rhett’s crutches would probably prove too tricky to climb them. Their glasses of wine were downed in a few gulps and abandoned on the coffee table as Link guided Rhett to the bed and took off his shorts and T-shirt.

Their lovemaking was slow and careful, with Link mindful of Rhett’s injuries. It was a good thing, too, since Link hadn’t realized how long it had been since he’d even thought about sex. When Rhett’s pink lips wrapped around the head of his cock Link had to dig his nails into his palms and concentrate hard on not spilling himself into the warmth right away. When he returned the favour, sucking greedily and making muffled moans at the taste he loved so much, he could feel Rhett holding himself back with a mighty effort too.

Stars burst behind Link’s eyelids as he came, feeling Rhett’s hand on his thigh, the gold band around his finger pressing into his skin.

The very next day, the realtor’s red-and-white _For Sale_ sign went up in front of his house. It was a desirable area, with good street presence. Only five days later, the giant word SOLD was pasted over it. 

Link could see the giant block letters from the bedroom window in the light of the full moon. The shadows of Rhett’s eyelashes fell across his cheeks and his hair took on a silvery glow. His painkillers were on the bedside table, untouched. Rhett claimed that all he needed to heal was time and plenty of distractions. Link was happy to be all the distraction the man needed. 

The road ahead was long and bumpy and full of turns and forks. Nothing ever worked out like the movies. Link knew he was in for some surprises and more than a few obstacles. And, to his surprise, he was actually excited. He’d never been one to embrace change, never the one to jump at the chance to try something new. But things had changed. _He_ had changed. And now his entire existence was going to change, too. 

The old Link would have tossed and turned, racked with gut-wrenching anxiety and full of negative thoughts. Now, he simply kissed Rhett’s forehead and laid his head on the cool pillow. 

Tomorrow was a new day.


	14. Promise

Early evening in the Mojave Desert, in a small town all golden and tan with scattered patches of tenacious green, the horizon bleeding orange and crimson over sandy plains.

February in eastern California had burned hot this year. The thermometer on Link’s new Nissan Titan pick-up read seventy-eight degrees as he pulled out of the driveway of his neat stucco house on Brookhaven Drive, and he wore sunglasses against the glare of the relentless sun. Though still warm, it was a certainly a respite from the long summer that had seen temperatures tipping over a hundred and ten in the late afternoon. Many a night Link had laid in bed with the AC blasting, thinking of Rhett sleeping off the heat of the day curled up naked in his clean limestone cave, or lounging in the green depths of the underground lake. The nights, thankfully, were much cooler - dropping down to a brisk fifty-two tonight, according to the weather app. Link had brought a jacket and a sleeping bag, as well as long underwear and flannel pyjama pants. Not that Rhett was likely to give him the chance to wear the dang things. Rhett would probably end up crawling inside the sleeping bag with him, stark naked, their combined body heat enough to fight the cold till morning.

The temperature was already dropping. Seventy-six. Seventy-five. _Rhett will have to wear his fur robe when he comes to meet me._ He had real clothes, but wore them only when absolutely necessary. The more time the wild man spent back in his natural habitat, the less comfortable he seemed to be with the human customs he’d picked up during his brief time in Los Angeles.

Sometimes Link remembered his cold, empty bungalow and the endless nights he spent alone and hurting. He remembered the warmth Rhett’s presence had brought, and the way the man had looked sunbathing in his swim trunks in the tidy but overgrown backyard. It was like seeing a tiger at a petting zoo; the feral man looked so out of place in the bland suburbs. He was too real in contrast with the mockery of a living space Link had created for himself. And he was out of place, just as Link was. No matter what he told himself for years, his own success would never be a fancy house in a fancy neighbourhood where the neighbours all had small dogs and immaculate gardens and new SUVs in the driveway. Success wasn’t a generous salary that looked good on paper until the mortgage and property insurance had to be paid. It was the sort of life that country folk dreamed of without realizing how much better off they were right at home.

Most of the furniture here was new. Link had spent some time on decorating, filling the house with things he liked, hiding his degree in the closet instead of hanging it on the wall like an empty boast. He took the empty frame and put in a photo of himself and his husband together on Christmas. Rhett looked mildly put out at the horrible reindeer sweater Link had shoved over his head but was grinning nonetheless. It made Link laugh whenever he passed by.

The one thing he made sure to keep was his little cactus in its pretty clay pot, which sat on his bedroom windowsill as it always had.

 _Small cactus,_ Rhett had said in delight, the first time he’d seen Link‘s bedroom in Burbank. _I like._

On the nightstand there was a small carved wooden bird and a wooden plaque inscribed with their names, two of Link's most treasured gifts.

Needles was rougher around the edges, poorer, friendlier than LA but more guarded than Raleigh, with none of the country courtesy of Buies Creek where everyone smiled and praised Jesus and preached love while muttering slurs the moment your back was turned. He was glad that the front of his house faced due west. The sunsets were always spectacular. Link lived only a few blocks away from the edge of town, and from his living room window he could see for miles. The houses were all on wide lots and few people had bothered erecting fences along their properties. Across the border in Arizona was Mohave Valley, and up north there was the Fort Mojave reservation and Bullhead City and Arizona Village. Altogether, it wasn’t nearly as slow-paced Link had been expecting. The salon he worked at had a sister location in the wealthier part of Mojave City, and he took lessons sometimes in the afternoons at the main college campus in Riviera. 

Neighbours waved at him as he drove slowly down the road. Link waved back. After they’d warmed up to his presence, everybody on his street liked him. Nobody seemed to care that he’d held hands with Rhett in front of all the neighbourhood children the last time the man visited. Nobody reacted much when he said he was a hairstylist. Link was constantly being waved over to join people lounging on their front porch to drink beer or fresh iced tea, or pressed to come inside to watch UFC or the football game. 

_What a nice town,_ he thought to himself after such every encounter. It was easy to make friends here. 

He didn’t fully realize, yet, that self-confidence and happiness are magnetic to others; that his neighbours couldn’t help but be drawn to the source of the light like moths to a flame. 

Link rolled down the windows as he veered onto the highway and pushed his truck up to seventy. The wind blew his hair silly and his reflection made him laugh. He’d have to comb it before he saw Rhett. _I hope he likes it._ The shaggy boyish winged style he’d rocked for the last decade didn’t fit his new career. It was much shorter now, longer on the top and parted further to the side, a touch of gel to slick everything into place. He found himself touching it often, liking the way it made him feel fresh and new. 

_Rhett won’t have as much to hold on to,_ he thought wickedly, allowing himself a moment of fantasy as the car cruised along a straight stretch.

Link was excited to tell Rhett about all the recent news. The salon where he apprenticed had offered him a permanent chair. And the owner, a man close to Link’s own age, had sat down with him after work on Tuesday and talked about a potential opportunity in nearby Lake Havasu City, where a big-budget TV show was being filmed. This prospect appealed to Link, as did the thought of perhaps bringing Rhett along. They could rent Jet-Skis or a small motor boat. They could fish and swim and go back to their hotel, eager for privacy, and stay up late together listening to music or watching one of the NatGeo channel specials that Rhett liked so much.

In half an hour Link turned off of Route 95 and swung a sharp left, rolling smoothly into the small gas station and convenience store and parking to the left of two eighteen-wheelers. He nodded at the truckers sitting outside on the bench with their coffees before heading inside to get a Gatorade. Route 95 was a common route for truckers heading all the way between Canada and Mexico.

The owner of the property greeted him by name. He didn’t mind the truck being kept in his parking lot for a few days. Link bought coffee and doughnuts every time and tipped well, and he didn’t have to worry about being towed. His story was that he was a nature photographer, trying to film undisturbed areas in the mountain range without any interrupting people. It sounded weak even to him, but Link knew he needed _some_ plausible reason to go walking directly into the middle of nowhere.

He checked his compass and took a long draw on his bottle of orange Gatorade. He could feel the swell of excitement in his stomach, that fizzy eager anticipation he always felt when he knew he would soon be reunited with his husband.

A flash of memory almost made him laugh out loud. Two Fridays ago, he’d picked Rhett up at this same gas station. Rhett was trying to lean casually against the wall away from the door, dressed in the extra set of clothes Link had given him over half a year ago, looking about as inconspicuous as a peacock in a chicken coop. Link had gone inside to pay for gas and impulsively bought a twenty-cent packet of Pop-Rocks to amaze Rhett. The man’s eyes had gone as wide as saucers when they began to pop and burst in his mouth. 

The truckers roused themselves out of their exhausted stupor long enough to give each other an incredulous look as Link, still grinning, slung his backpack over his shoulder and strolled confidently into the wild desert.

Before long the gas station dropped out of sight and Link felt the magic of isolation take over. He never quite got used to this childlike wonder. The desert always made him feel as though he had travelled to another time, when humans didn’t hold sway over the planet. 

A sidewinder fled from a shrub and crossed in front of him, leaving its signature loopy J scrawl in the sand. The world seemed to be holding its breath. 

The sun dipped behind the beginning of the mountain range, turning the shadows of cacti and yuccas into long stripes upon the ground. Link breathed in the familiar earthy-spicy smells of the desert fauna and felt instantly rejuvenated. Though he loved his humble house in Needles, this wilderness had become the most sacred place in the world to him. It held the place in his heart where most people stored the happy memories of childhood. Link rarely thought about North Carolina at all any more, and when he was asked where he’d come from he told people ‘Los Angeles’ with a smile. Los Angeles was the place the new Link came from, after all. The new Link, who was confident and happy and _married_ , to a man he was pretty sure was more handsome than any model or A-list actor. The new Link didn’t internalize his feelings or seek validation from low-lifes like Max. He didn’t try and forget his past, but he knew that he didn’t have to let it define him or drag him down. He could admit his own flaws and laugh at his idiosyncrasies - the way he expressed nervousness through manic cheer or how he got carried away with housework like it was a hobby and not a chore. 

Rhett had taught him how to hold a moment by its stem. Rhett had taught him how to persevere. And how simple it had been - all Link needed was to be shown he was worthy of love.

Link touched the ring on his finger, the band that matched Rhett’s save for the colour; Link’s was white-gold and Rhett’s yellow. He had some instinct for matching colour tones and personalities, which cheered the salon owner and his growing number of clients. Rhett was bold and brassy and full of natural cheer; his ring suited him well. 

They’d seen each other only two weeks ago, but Link missed him so hard it hurt. 

To the south rose the Chemehuevi Mountains, stark and beautiful. Link had put on a few pounds of muscle from walking here so often, up and down and up again just to travel in a straight line. The trip used to leave him sore and exhausted, but then his body had hardened and adapted. Now, almost at the meeting place, he had only broken a light sweat and his legs felt strong enough to walk another twenty miles. Still, he was glad the journey was almost over, no matter how beautiful the scenery was or how peaceful it was to be alone with his thoughts. 

Not far ahead, a grackle took wing noisily. Something had frightened it. Link had a feeling that he knew what it was.

Link grinned and scrambled up a rocky bluff. He had every handhold memorized. At the top, Rhett sat cross-legged, his back against a boulder, his head tilted back to watch the sunset. When he saw Link, he scrambled to his feet. A shaggy beard hid much of his white smile.

Seeing his face always made Link feel like the colour had returned to the entire world in one dizzying burst. Like stepping into the sun for the very first time.

He hadn’t noticed that he was running until he collided with Rhett so hard the big man nearly lost his balance. 

“Sorry,“ Link mumbled into Rhett’s collarbone, his arms locking around Rhett’s back. Rhett tucked his chin over the crown of Link’s head and squeezed him back just as tightly, laughing.

“My Link,” he said warmly. “Husband Link. I have missed you so much.”

Rhett smelled like woodsmoke and sage. When they pulled back far enough to kiss, Rhett suddenly stopped - ignoring Link’s frustrated grumble - and touched Link’s hair, trying to wind his fingers in it as he used to but failing to grasp enough to get a grip. He looked fascinated but didn’t say a word.

Link fidgeted. “I figured it was time for a change. Do you like it?”

“Yes,” Rhett said emphatically. “I can see more of your face now.” 

“You mean you can see how big my forehead is for the first time.”

“It is a very pretty forehead,” Rhett said, sincerely, and kissed it to prove his point.

Link was having none of that. He went up on his tip-toes and directed Rhett’s mouth to his own instead, passionate and demanding. Rhett yielded and kissed him back.

Finally Rhett pulled back, breathless. He pushed his face into Link’s neck and inhaled deeply. His beard was getting very long again, as was his hair. “Missed you,“ he said. “Too long since Link has been in my cave with me in my desert. I make good food, good things to eat. Beans to eat. Link will like.” He took Link’s hand and kissed his ring finger. “Did Link eat dinner?”

The stunted speech was not surprising. Rhett didn’t bother trying as hard with his grammar any more. He could make himself understood, and that was good enough for both of them.

“I had a sandwich before I left. And I have a Cliff bar. Didn’t want to eat too much of your food, I know your stores are still low. I’ll take you up on breakfast tomorrow, though.”

“I just ate rabbit for my dinner,” Rhett said, patting his belly.

“Rabbit, huh? No fish?” Link teased. 

“I looked at river. Too many people, lots of boats. At night, very early in the night, many fish and no people. Also very late in the night right before the sun comes back. But I was asleep last night to make sure I am awake for you to visit. So, I make rope trap to catch a rabbit.”

“Many people on the river?” Link wondered. “I know it’s not exactly deserted, but…Oh. It’s the Valentine's Day weekend. There’s probably tourists everywhere. Romantic boat trips down the Colorado.” 

Rhett had a source of water in his underground lake, but for fish he walked miles to a shallow place on the Colorado River where he found trout and bass and catfish. There were small fish in the cave, but they were hard to catch and not very filling. Link also suspected that Rhett was secretly growing fond of them. Link brought an underwater flashlight the last time he visited and Rhett had laughed to see the little fish follow the beam of light. Later, Link had seen Rhett sneaking leftover dinner crumbs to the tiny creatures.

“What is Valentine’s Day?“ Rhett asked. He was clumsy in his shoes and had gotten the laces wrong. When he dropped down to walk on all fours down to the edge of the river wash, more beast than human, Link felt a tug at his heart.

“It’s a holiday where people celebrate love,” Link told him. “I guess I’m a lousy husband for forgetting what weekend this was.” 

Rhett waved a hand to brush that comment aside; he wasn’t big on details that were based on human conventions. He’d been grateful but confused as to why Link had missed a day of school to bring presents last October to celebrate Rhett’s birthday. “Link,” he’d lectured, “school is important and good. Presents can be had any time.”

“But it’s your _birthday,_ ” Link had kept insisting, but Rhett had brushed that off too.

They sidestepped an orange-blossomed barrel cactus as Link continued. “Usually on Valentine’s Day, couples go out together, like to dinner somewhere nice, you know. Maybe watch romantic movies. I’m not sure. I only had one real Valentine’s Day date before. Max took me to this Thai place, paying for everything and acting all smooth, but then we brought some gin home to make drinks and he ended up passing out before he could…before he could try to push me again.” It was easy to talk about Max now. The wound was still there, but it no longer stung when touched. 

Rhett put a hand on Link’s arm. “A holiday. I remember holiday. Like Christmas, when we drank very good wine and ate ham and Link had a big dead needle tree in the living room. I liked it very much.”

Link laughed. “And you loved the reindeer sweater I got for you too, right?”

Rhett gave him a long-suffering look. “Is there a sweater to wear for Valentine’s Day?”

“You’re in luck,” Link told him, panting a little as they began to climb up the other side of the river wash valley. “Valentine’s Day is…more about taking clothes _off_ , rather than putting them _on,_ really.”

Rhett looked a little happier. “Is there… _are_ there presents, like at Christmas?”

“Sometimes. Not always. I never got any before.” 

Rhett’s deft hands plucked a tiny flower from a lopsided shrub and tucked it behind Link’s ear. “Small present,” he said. “For now.” 

Link stopped walking and grabbed Rhett by the shoulders, and the sensational winter sunset went ignored. 

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Link’s cheeks were reddened with beard burn and his mouth tasted of the pinyon pine kernels that Rhett brewed into a drink. They both wore slightly dazed smiles as they walked onward in silence. The world was already falling into indigo twilight, the air chilly in contrast to the fiery heat of their arms around each other. Link could see goose bumps prickling over Rhett’s bare arms.

“You’re cold,” he said, breaking their reverie. “Here.” He shucked off his jacket and held it out.

Rhett made no move to take it. “If I put it on, then Link will be cold.”

“I’m still wearing a shirt and pants. You’re stark naked.”

“What is ‘stark’?” Rhett asked with interest, still ignoring the request.

“I - I think it means the same thing as ‘bare’. Bare naked.”

“Doesn’t ‘naked’ already mean ‘bare’?”

“Put on the jacket, Rhett.”

Rhett knew better than to argue with his husband when his jaw set in such a way. “Okay.“

It was tight-fitting on him, funny-looking with his bare thighs coming out the bottom. Link tried to hold his laughter in but failed miserably. Rhett made a big show of how his shoulders and chest were too broad to be contained, flexing and posturing until Link swatted his butt playfully.

Besides Rhett’s lack of clothing, any casual observer would think the two men were like any other normal couple instead of two men living in entirely different worlds. Their lives were both very busy in very different ways. Sometimes their plans for seeing each other had to be adjusted. This did not concern them. The dynamic between them did not change with distance nor time.

No matter how long they were apart, they both knew they would always find each other again.

 

**

 

It was Rhett’s favourite time of year. The time of the cool weather was ending and it was now the time of more rain and many flowers. The splashes of colour painted the valley floor so densely that it was difficult to see the ground beneath. Sometimes Rhett climbed to the highest point on his side of the mountain and laid on a limestone shelf on his belly, looking down at the land that was so beautiful it took his breath away.

He could not wait to show his mate the time of the desert bloom in the valley. He wanted to show Link the baby jackrabbits and the bold, wary-eyed coyotes that travelled through the valley at night while Rhett was safe on higher ground. And he could not wait to take Link to the new spot he’d discovered, on a grassy hill in the middle of where the marks of rainwater runoff painted the earth in swirling lines. When there was rain, this hill was an island. There had been two strong rains that had turned this place into a real river, foamy and fast-moving and dangerous. Rhett had climbed to higher ground and watched for the better part of a day, reserving his energy since the flooding interfered with his ability to obtain food. It was a fine sight. 

One day Rhett had come searching for food, attracted by the ironwood trees, and had noticed himself being observed by a great many small heads with big ears that popped out of hidden holes. He had forgotten all about ironwood seeds and dropped onto his behind to watch. If he sat very still they would grow bold and come out of their den to look at him. They were chubby and well-fed, a good sign, for it meant prey was plentiful.

This was good and fruitful land. And Rhett was a part of it, as he once was, as humans in the city would never be. It was a life of many hardships, but a life fulfilled.

He didn’t realize how much he was babbling until he ran out of breath. Link was listening, rapt. 

“Desert kit fox,” Link told him. “That’s what those little things were, I think.”

Link knew so many words and names. Rhett was impressed. 

Link caught the admiring look and ducked his head as if embarrassed. “I read up online about all the species that live out here.”

“I will show them to you. That can be another present for - for Valentine’s Day.”

“Way better than crappy movies and gin cocktails,” Link mused. 

“They are too fast to eat,” Rhett added as an afterthought. 

“You mean, they’re too cute.”

Rhett blew air through his nose to make a snorting sound. Maybe his heart had gotten a _little_ softer. There wasn’t room to be soft and tender in the wild. Animals did not shed tears for their food. Being married to a human did change him in some ways that snuck up unexpectedly. It felt good to care about things and nurture them.

Link had the look on his face that meant that he knew he was right but didn’t want to gloat too much. “Maybe we can eat some of the fish in your lake instead.”

“Not good fish,” Rhett protested, cheeks heating up.

“They might be pretty good once you fatten them up a little more with all the food you sneak them,” Link teased.

“I tell fish, eat Link’s feet instead.” 

“They don’t bite.” Link suddenly sounded nervous. “Do they bite?”

“Maybe bite. I teach them how.”

“Okay, okay.” Link threw up his hands in mock defeat. “I’ll leave ‘em alone.” He leaned comfortably against Rhett as they walked and put one arm around his waist. It made Rhett walk a little funny but he liked it when Link could not help but touch him.

“Here, Link,” Rhett said after a while, kneeling down next to what looked like a crack between two enormous boulders. An observer might think that it was too small to fit through. But with practiced ease, Rhett slipped in as neatly as a mouse slips beneath the space under a door and scrambled to the side to help Link slide in after him. Their feet landed on smooth limestone.

Inside the cave was paradise. 

Rhett found his robe in the dark and gave Link’s jacket back. Link put it on absently as he moved about putting his things away and munching noisily on his chewy trail mix bar. Link’s eyes weren’t as good as his own but he had been here enough to know where everything was: the flat place for sleeping, the rocky ledge for sitting, the firepit, and the crevice in the wall where Link put his keys and glasses and anything else that he did not want to lose. 

They could both stand up in the main area; the stalactites hanging from the ceiling were half a foot above Rhett’s head. There were other parts of the cave system where he had to duck, and others where he had to crawl, and some where he had to get on his belly and wriggle like a snake. During the day some light streamed through small cracks in the ceiling, giving him light enough to see by. At the far end of the den the limestone floor gave way suddenly to the deep cold water, and this he hadn’t explored very far at all. Maybe besides this part of his cave, there was no other parts of the lake that had air over them. It was impossible to know.

Link’s gasp echoed off the stone walls as he dipped his sweaty feet in the water. “I never get used to how cold this is,” he said. “How do you swim in here?”

“I like it. I like to be clean.”

Link just shook his head. “I keep meaning to bring a bucket and a cloth so I can heat some water up outside in the sun, and have a sponge bath.”

“A sponge bath?” 

“You just sort of rub a wet cloth all over, instead of actually getting into water.”

“So why is it not a cloth bath?”

“Well, you can use a sponge instead. But that’s just the term people use.”

“I think swimming is much more fun.”

“I love swimming, but only in water that can’t actually kill me by hypothermia.” Link was smiling. It was an old argument.

“It feels good,” said Rhett. “Good and fresh on naked skin.”

Link raised an eyebrow. “If you want me out of my clothes, you could just _ask._ We’re married now, after all.”

Rhett dipped a finger in the water and touched it to the back of Link’s neck. A single droplet trickled down his collar. The sound that came out of Link was so high-pitched that Rhett burst out laughing. 

“ _Rhett!_ ” Link yelped indignantly. “No fair. I can’t see.” He flailed his arm vaguely in Rhett’s direction. “Where are you?”

Rhett easily avoided the counter-attack and moved away from the water, to where Link’s sleeping bag and Rhett’s blanket were spread out. His eyes were better than Link’s in the dark, a skill developed by years of living nocturnally. There were no holes in the roof above the bed area, which was good because sand didn’t blow in to get everything messy. Rhett had a hand-crank flashlight and a small round battery powered floor light to use, but decided on the candles. Their light was warm and intimate and made Rhett think of the first time he had made a fire for Link.

“Trying to be romantic, huh?“ Link, a shadow in the darkness, came towards the flickering beacons. “I’m wise to all your ways now, Rhett McLaughlin.”

Rhett blew out the match and waited until his mate was close enough to see him. Then he shrugged off his robe and let it fall. 

“Can you see now?” Rhett made his voice very low and growly, which he knew made Link excited. His manhood was stiff and it felt hot and heavy between his legs.

Link stepped closer, his eyes hungry, his voice weak. “Maybe I’m still mad at you.” He swallowed hard as Rhett touched himself. His pupils were blown wide, black pools with twin points of light reflecting redly. “Maybe I…uh…something about revenge, or…” 

“That is okay,” Rhett lied. “I can take care of this myself, with my hand. Then I will fall asleep.”

“You’d never,” Link said even as he began to strip like his life depended on it. Rhett had just enough time to lay down on his back before Link was naked and on top of him, teeth grazing his neck and his hardness pressed right up against Rhett’s. 

“Yes,” Rhett gasped, welcoming the pain of those sharp teeth, the gentle kisses that followed. Link’s hips thrust down, grinding their lower bodies together. Rhett tried to get a hand between them, to stroke Link as he had stroked himself, but Link was too wild. When his rhythm faltered, he shuffled higher up Rhett’s body, getting more of his weight onto his knees. A droplet of his sweat landed on Rhett’s cheek.

“Fuck,” Link choked out, his dick rubbing wetly against Rhett’s stomach now. “Fuck, _Rhett_ \- ”

Rhett tried to position himself, craving friction too. Link got a devious look on his face and purposely arched his butt away. He liked teasing Rhett, goading him into action. Rhett was all too willing to oblige.

“Touch me, Link,” he demanded, grabbing at Link’s sides firmly.

Link’s eyes sparkled. “Make me.”

They tussled for control. Rhett got the upper hand after some struggle - he was stronger and bigger, but Link had the advantage in his position - and immediately flipped them around so that Link was on his back. He held Link’s hands above his head, liking the way Link looked squirming beneath him. Now it was his turn to touch Link everywhere except where he needed it most.

Link’s devious face softened and turned desperate after this torture. “Please,” he begged. “Please…Rhett…”

“What do you want?” Rhett knew, of course, but liked to hear Link say it. He smiled down at his mate and let Link’s wrists go free. His mate’s hands went to his chest and caressed his taut muscles, the thatch of hair, each of his sensitive nipples.

“I’ve thought about what I want you to do to me for days,” Link said huskily. His fingertips trailed down his stomach, leaving burning hot trails in their wake. Rhett groaned as Link’s hand wrapped around his manhood and stroked, languidly. 

“Oh,” Rhett’s mouth fell open as Link gave him a squeeze.

“I want you to put this inside me,” Link murmured in his ear, in the sultry way Rhett loved. “I want it now and I want you to make it last. Not gentle. Want to feel it for days.”

So different from his usual sweet exuberant voice. And it was only for Rhett to hear.

“I can do that,” Rhett said. To start, he shimmied back, trailing kisses in his wake. Link’s pulse thrummed fast beneath his fevered skin and his hands shook as they gripped Rhett’s shoulders. When Rhett reached his goal he spread Link’s thighs wide and buried his face between.

Link let out the sweetest sound at the touch of Rhett’s tongue on his hole. He made his tongue wide and flat and licked firmly until the resistance disappeared and he could push inside. He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the waves of lust rolling through him as he pleasured his mate in this intimate way.

Link was moaning and saying things from somewhere far away. His thighs were trembling. Rhett kissed them as he drew back to get a breath and Link‘s body arched. “Rhett,” he was saying. “Rhett, Rhett, fuck.”

“Want you, Link. Want to make love to you.”

“Do it, do it now, put it in, I can’t wait, don’t make me wait - ”

Time moved in a jerky way. Awkward fumbling at the tiny bottle Rhett had placed close to the bed, so he wouldn’t have to search in the dark. It was cold on his hardness but warmed fast. He added more to Link’s hole with his fingers, easing two inside to get him ready. And then finally, _finally_ , he was helping Link get his ankles up on his shoulders, watching the little face scrunch up in brief shock as Rhett pushed his cock inside his tight entrance.

“So big,” Link said in a strangled way, like he almost always did. But soon Link was urging him on and begging for more until his body relaxed enough for Rhett to slide in and out with ease.

It was rough and sweet and perfect. Rhett began slow like always, finding the right angles that made them both sigh and gasp. He would wait for Link’s signal to speed up. No matter how much he wanted to go hard and fast, he would wait.

After some time Link’s face changed and his eyes turned hungry, desperate. Rhett thrust deeper and leaned forward. Link was bent almost in half. This elicited a sharp moan, and then Link grabbed at Rhett’s shoulders tightly and muttered, “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” over and over as if Rhett would ever be able to. The den was filled with their groans of exertion and pleasure. They both shifted subtly until Link cried out, brokenly, “ _There_ , yes, fuck me harder, just like that, that’s so _good_.” Rhett held himself back and fucked Link in deep, hard strokes, holding eye contact and watching Link’s face every time his prostrate was struck, until his mate shuddered and came without being touched. After, he looked up at Rhett with worship in his eyes until Rhett’s pace faltered and his moment of pleasure overwhelmed him too.

Rhett set Link’s legs down and collapsed on top of him until he caught his breath. His heart was pumping strong and his muscles ached with exertion. He felt elated and very much alive. The simple and pure pleasure of sex - of celebrating life together in the most natural way - was surely the only time humans in the cities got to experience what it meant to be free. Rhett felt very sorry for the people who had all sorts of rules about sex and how they couldn’t have it with who they wanted or how they wanted. Humans created a thing called shame and didn’t seem to understand that it wasn’t natural. No wonder there were such things as war and bombs and crime.

But now was not the time to think about serious things. Now was the time to enjoy the company he had. And maybe, just maybe, some people were celebrating the holiday of love that Link had mentioned, and feeling some of the joy Rhett felt constantly in his marriage. That was a good thought.

Rhett rolled to the side and had to get up to blow out the candles. Link sat up and zipped up the sleeping bag partway, murmuring about the cold. When Rhett returned, he had to wriggle his way inside of it with some difficulty. The sight of Link all tucked up and cozy, his face smooth and stress-free, gave him much satisfaction. He got the zipper done up the rest of the way and their bodies quickly grew pleasantly warm. 

Link kissed his chin clumsily, totally blind in the dark with his glasses off. Rhett put a hand on his jaw and guided their mouths together as their wildly beating hearts slowed. They stayed like that for some time, not even kissing, just trading breaths with their lips touching.

“That was incredible,” Link murmured when they broke apart. Their hands caught and intertwined. “I don’t want to fall asleep. I want to lay here forever with you.”

Rhett nuzzled Link’s velvet neck. “You have to sleep. In the morning I will show you the foxes. I will show you where the deer come. You will need energy.” He was already excited at the thought of all they would do together. “We will make a breakfast with mesquite beans. I make new way of eating them. We will eat them with - ” He searched for the word Link had taught him. “Avocado.”

Link smiled and closed his eyes. “Tell me how.”

Rhett’s method of cooking mesquite bean tortillas was almost identical to how the Mohave Indians had done it for generations. When picked green and placed in a big covered pot in the sun, they fermented in a few days and turned vinegary like sauerkraut. In a few more days the acid smell went away and the beans were hard. Rhett ground them down patiently with a mortar and pestle - or, rather, in a smooth-surfaced bowl-shaped dip in a boulder with a hard elongated pyramid shaped rock - and mashed the powder with water to make dough. It felt good to squish between his fingers and cooked well into a sort of flat circle.

Rhett’s calm, clear voice had a soporific effect on Link. The smaller man’s eyelids grew heavier as he listened, and his responses fewer, until finally Rhett stopped. Link’s face had gone slack, and his mouth fell open as it always did when he fell asleep. 

Rhett kissed the tip of his nose and snuggled up against him, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Midnight in the desert was a magical time. Life was abundant and the sky was luminous with stars. A bobcat screamed twice; the female that lived on the opposite side of the mountain was calling for company. There would be kittens come spring. More competition for the rabbits.

Rhett, sweaty and sated, with his naked mate in his arms, felt up for the challenge. In fact, he felt like he could take on a full-grown bear. With Link’s support he could do anything he wanted to do.

Link began snoring faintly. Rhett was pleased to have worn him out. His own sleep schedule was a little off and he felt pleasantly relaxed, but not yet ready for slumber. He laid still so as to not disturb Link and let his mind wander. Before bed he liked to process the things he had done today and the things he needed to do.

He wanted to plant a leafy bush near the entrance to his part of the cave to conceal it, and to be able to crawl out and look around while still being hidden. Plus, the mating season of some of the larger animals was close and Rhett had to spend time studying where the nests and burrows and dens were. These things were good to know. Also there were more deer here than there were in his old home. Deer tasted very, very good. Rhett had already caught one by more dumb luck than skill, a young one with a broken leg. He could have cook fires in some parts of the cave system because there was much ventilation and there was no nearby road for humans to be able to see smoke. Rhett thought of ways to trap another deer sometime, and how and where to store all the jerky he wanted to make from the meat. 

There was human food in his cave, too. Cans of beans, and a tool to open the cans. Almonds and walnuts. A pot to cook with and a pan, and a little metal stand so that they could be set over a fire. A bottle of wine which tasted very good with catfish. Link brought him these gifts and Rhett could not say no. The last time Link visited, he’d also brought something called cornmeal and a bottle of oil. Rhett caught three big catfish at his bequest and together they had rolled the filets in the cornmeal and fried them up. The resulting meal was heavenly, and the smell of the fish frying had stirred memories of his childhood. 

_His mother standing at the stove in a flowered dress and an apron with the air smelling of burnt oil. Coleslaw and hush puppies on the side and milk to drink. Rhett almost remembered the flavours. Asking for seconds. His father smiling, telling him how he was growing fast with that appetite, would maybe even grow taller than him one day._

Rhett’s forehead creased. What would his mother and father and brother think of him now? 

It seemed to Rhett that he would never be able to be fully human or fully wild. He did not know how to feel about that. What did he want to be? Who was he _supposed_ to be? 

There were still many things about the world that Rhett did not understand. There were things about human life that he missed. There were questions in his heart that he could not voice aloud. Humans in the city thought a lot about their role in the world, their impact on the earth. Link and many others believed in a god that could show them the right path to take. What place did Rhett have in this world? It seemed there was no place for a man who couldn’t be an animal and couldn’t be a human. To live in the desert he had to think like a human, learn to avoid being detected, to respect the laws humans had made. And yet he also had to think like an animal, watching out for predators and prey, always on high alert. It would be much, much easier to just be one or the other.

Then again, life wasn’t easy for anybody. It had always been difficult for Rhett. Maybe that was why he had felt so strongly about the injured human who had come crashing into his territory unannounced. Some part of him knew that he needed support and love. Or maybe it was the god Link believed in, putting them together because that was the way it was supposed to be.

Rhett looked at his mate again. Link had found his path. Link was happy now. He was a normal human who had a human purpose. Rhett could see the happiness all over him and the difference in his posture. The stress that dragged him down every evening when he came home from work was gone for good. He went to church sometimes on Sundays, for the first time in over fifteen years. He had human friends. But he loved Rhett still, and he wore the ring that meant they were married. He said that Rhett made him happier than anything else in the world. He also said that Rhett had shown him how to take the path he’d wanted to choose. 

Rhett felt very much the same way about him. 

They brought happiness to each other. Maybe that was purpose enough. Maybe one person could not change the bad things in the world all at once. Maybe everything started with this - this pure and absolute love.

Rhett had already learned that it was possible to change and adapt like Link had. Link taught him that happiness came from accepting and embracing change. That to love yourself would make everything turn out okay in the end.

Link gave a muffled sigh and turned his head to the side. A bright shaft of silver moonlight shone through the cave’s main entrance, just enough for Rhett to make out Link’s face, serene and beautiful.

To look upon him cleared all remaining doubt from Rhett’s mind. No matter what, they had each other. Unlike all other things in life, love could be eternal.

Rhett’s fingers touched his yellow-gold ring and remembered the promises they had made. He put his head on his mate’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, and was at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the positive comments, all the kudos, and the tags you guys put when you reblog these chapters on tumblr. Though I've had a hard time replying to all my comments, I have read and cherished every single one. This story would not have existed without you. I lack the skill to truly grasp an epic plot and unveil it slowly, as a great writer might have done with the elements of this plot - but I feel as if I have been challenged (in a good way) by the attention you guys have given me. And it's forced me to improve. You pushed me to make myself finish this lengthy thing and it feels wonderful to be done.
> 
> Thank you, again.


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